The Congress on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the topic of 1975 Emergency in his monthly Mann Ki Baat address. The Congress said the Centre had imposed an “undeclared emergency” on the country, ANI reported.

On the occasion of the anniversary of the 1975 Emergency on Sunday, Modi said he cannot forget the “black night” that had caused harm to democracy. “Along with Jaiprakash Narayan, many prominent leaders were jailed,” he said. “Even the judiciary did not remain unaffected by the shadow of the Emergency. The media was completely rendered useless.”

Senior Congress leader Tom Vadakkan reminded the Modi government of the recent CBI raids on NDTV owners Prannoy Roy and his wife’s residence over alleged bank fraud. “The fact is that there is a muzzling of the media and the raids on media, which can only be listed as undeclared emergency,” Vadakkan said. The Congress leader also said the internal security of the country was under “jeopardy”. “This ‘broad shoulder’ government said they will put it in order,” he added.

Besides talking about the Emergency, Modi congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation for the success of Mars Mission that is functioning even after a 1,000 days. He also extended greetings to the people on the occasion of Rath Yatra and Eid-ul-Fitr.