The Congress has admitted that “unlimited state and party power'' was concentrated in the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and said that Sanjay Gandhi implemented various measures in an “arbitrary and authoritarian'' manner then.
The party has come out with some unpleasant home truths in the book The Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation edited by senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee.
“The period of Emergency saw the suspension of normal political procedures and fundamental rights and enforcement of Press censorship. Powers of the judiciary were reduced drastically. Unlimited state and party power was concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister,” says the book released on the occasion of 125 years of the party.
The Emergency was imposed in June 1975 and it lasted till January 1977 when Indira Gandhi ordered elections.
Pointing out that Sanjay Gandhi had by then emerged as a leader of great significance, the book said it was due to his support to family planning that the government decided to pursue it more vigorously. “He also promoted slum clearance, anti-dowry measures and promotion of literacy, but in an arbitrary and authoritarian manner, much to the annoyance of the popular opinion.''
Recalling that while vast sections of the population welcomed the Emergency initially since general administration improved, it says “unfortunately, in certain spheres, over-enthusiasm led to compulsion in the enforcement of certain programmes like compulsory sterilisation and clearing of slums.''
JP's movement “undemocratic”
Describing Jayaprakash Narayan's ideology as “vague,'' the book nevertheless says his integrity and selflessness could not be faulted. It describes JP's movement as “extra-constitutional and undemocratic.''
Not sparing Rajiv Gandhi either, the book says that in his anxiety to make quick changes, he shuffled and reshuffled his team, both in the party and the government, frequently. “The promises of reform in the party which he made in his famous Bombay speech as a corollary to attack on power brokers in the party could not be fulfilled. Party elections, long overdue, were put off again and again.''
However, appreciating the late Prime Minister, P.V.Narasimha Rao, for his governance, the book says it was creditable that his government completed its full term, making him the first person outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to serve as Prime Minister for five continuous years.
It notes that the major achievement of this government was the carrying forward of the process of economic reforms which the Congress party had outlined in its election manifesto (when Rajiv Gandhi was the leader).
The book appreciates Rahul Gandhi for his initiatives during the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and some other States, but makes no reference to the recent Bihar Assembly elections where the party suffered badly.
