The last caution before declaration of Emergency
The first statement that the cabinet ministers and some chief ministers issued from Delhi on the Supreme Court's decision came in record time. Its cyclostyled copy was available informally from the government's Press Information Bureau within an hour of the Supreme Court verdict. By then, news agencies had not even finished creeding the full text of Justice Krishna Iyer's 23-page order.
The only inference one can draw from this is that the leaders in the government had made up their minds even before the court's judgement was out. The statement was ready or nearly ready. This is confirmed by the way the conditional stay has been twisted to mean the vindication of the Congress party's stand that Indira Gandhi can continue as the Prime Minister and that there was no impediment in the way. (The decision was to take a positive line and the government information media were instructed accordingly.) One wonders what more the cabinet ministers and other supporters of Mrs Gandhi could have said if the stay had been unconditional.
Shorn of propaganda, the stay given by Justice Iyer is not absolute. For, it does not allow Mrs Gandhi either to vote or draw allowances. This is what judges have done in similar cases earlier. Under the law, Justice Iyer could go only thus far. As he himself said, the office of Prime Minister and its functioning were regulated by a separate set of articles of the Constitution.
Now it is left to Mrs Gandhi to decide whether she should continue in office in the face of the conditional stay. Her own counsel, Nani Palkhivala, has said in his arguments before Justice Iyer that there would be 'irreparable damage' to the institution of Prime Minister if unconditional stay was not granted. A conditional stay is a cloud which is bound to cast its shadow on the office. It is a disability with which Mrs Gandhi will have to live. It may not physically come in the way of functioning, but it can eat one up within. It is not so much a matter of level disability as one of conscience. The fact that she has not given her mind encourages the hope that she may still be weighing the issues.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
28 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
New York mayoral candidate Mamdani defends campaign despite Democratic unease
Democrats have struggled to find a coherent message after their resounding loss in the November elections that saw President Donald Trump return to the White House and his Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"Break Their Legs": Odisha Police Officer's Instruction At Protest Goes Viral. "Out Of Context," He Says
Bhubaneswar: A senior police officer's very specific instruction to police personnel guarding a barbed wire barricade outside Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi's house during a protest by Congress party workers has gone viral on social media. The Congress workers came to protest against what they called crowd mismanagement and negligence after three people were killed and 50 were injured in a stampede in Puri on Sunday. The incident happened near Puri's Shree Gundicha temple during a ceremony linked to the ongoing Rath Yatra festival. A large police force was posted outside the chief minister's house in anticipation of the protest by the Congress workers. One of the officers who oversaw the deployment was Bhubaneswar Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Narasingha Bhol. In the video that went viral, Mr Bhol walked to the last barricade among a row of barricades and gave instructions to police personnel standing there. His index finger pointing towards a circular barbed wire that went in a loop around the barricade, the ACP said, "If anybody reaches here, break their leg. Don't catch them, just break their legs. We are standing there [some distance away] to catch them. Whoever breaks a leg, come to me and take a reward." "Yes, sir, yes, sir," the policemen behind the last barricade responded to the instruction given by the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. After the video went viral on social media, Mr Bhol told NDTV on phone that his comment was taken out of context. "There is a place, time and context in everything. Where was it happening, when was it happening... If you see the video, I told the personnel that 'we are there to arrest them'," Mr Bhol said, referring to a spot some distance away from the barricade. "Before reaching the spot where I was standing, there were two barricades. The order was to detain unruly protesters at the first barricade itself. However, if somebody breached the two barricades and went beyond them, then that person has already broken the law. He is part of an unlawful assembly." The police officer added, "We are free to apply maximum force to stop unlawful assembly." The Odisha government has launched an administrative investigation into the Puri stampede. State Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said Development Commissioner Anu Garg will submit a report to the chief minister within 30 days. "The state government will take stern action against those responsible for the tragic incident," the law minister said. Puri's Chief District Medical Officer Kishore Satapathy told news agency PTI that all injured people were discharged from a government health facility by 8 pm on Sunday.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Indian Youth Congress Lodges Complaint Against RSS Leader's Preamble Remarks
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Unit of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) Legal Cell on Sunday lodged a formal complaint against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale for calling for a reconsideration of the inclusion of the terms "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. The complaint was lodged at the Sheshadripuram Police Station by Legal Cell Chairman Sridhar, Co-Chairman Samrudh Hegde, and other office-bearers and advocates. The complaint specifically refers to Hosabale's remarks on June 26 during a public gathering commemorating the Emergency, where he called for the reconsideration and removal of the words from the Preamble. Sridhar, in a letter attached along with the complaint, stated, "On 26th June 2025, while addressing a public gathering commemorating the Emergency, Mr. Hosabale openly stated that the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble to the Constitution should be reconsidered and removed. These remarks, made at a politically sensitive event by a high-ranking ideologue of an organisation, are not just ideational commentary." "Such attempts to publicly erode constitutional values must be treated with utmost seriousness and urgency. A clear message must be sent that no one is above the Constitution, and any public advocacy of unconstitutional means or dismantling of constitutional principles will face due process of law," it added. Earlier today, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Sandosh Kumar wrote a letter to RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, urging him to recognise the critical role of secularism and socialism as foundational values of the Indian Constitution after Hosabale's call. In his letter, Kumar criticised recent statements made by a senior RSS functionary, questioning these principles and arguing that they are essential to India's pluralistic and just society. He also urged the RSS to formally accept the Constitution and cease actions that undermine its spirit. "These principles are not arbitrary insertions but foundational ideals that emerged from the lived experiences of India's oppressed and the visionary imagination of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and many others who sought to create a just, pluralistic Republic. In a diverse country like ours, secularism ensures unity in diversity, while socialism promises justice and dignity to each of our citizens. To ridicule or reject these values is to negate the promise made to the people of India at the moment of our nation's liberation from colonial rule," Kumar wrote. On June 26, RSS general secretary Hosabale suggested reconsidering the inclusion of the terms "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. Hosabale was addressing an event on the 50th anniversary of the emergency, held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre, jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (under the Ministry of Culture) and the Ambedkar International Centre. Speaking at the event, he emphasised that the emergency wasn't just a misuse of power but an attempt to crush civil liberties. Millions were imprisoned, and freedom of the press was suppressed. He remarked that during the emergency, terms like "socialist" and "secular" were forcibly inserted into the Constitution -- a move that needs to be reconsidered.
