‘Sanjay Gandhi Gave Targets, People Hid In Drains’: Shivraj Chouhan On Sterilisation Drive In Emergency Era
Agriculture Minister Chouhan attacked Congress, recalling the Emergency era's curtailment of civil liberties and forced sterilisations under Indira and Sanjay Gandhi.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched a sharp attack on the Congress party, recalling the dark days of the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the brutal family planning campaign led by her son, Sanjay Gandhi.
Speaking to ABP News Political Editor Megha Prasad, Chouhan painted a harrowing picture of life during the mid-1970s. “The situation was such that sterilisation targets were fixed. If a vehicle entered the village, people would start running, hiding in drains, thinking the sterilisation teams had arrived. The elderly and unmarried were sterilised. From children to the elderly, no one was spared. Because Sanjay Gandhi had said, ‘If you want to keep your job, meet the target, or else you’re not fit for the post.’ People used to flee,” Chouhan said.
The Emergency period — which began in June 1975 and lasted until March 1977 — witnessed widespread curtailment of civil liberties. The family planning programme introduced by Sanjay Gandhi, who held no official government post, led to the sterilisation of over 11 million people, often through coercive and punitive measures, as per reports. According to India Today, salaries were withheld, water supply was cut, and government staff faced threats of dismissal to ensure targets were met. Night raids were conducted to catch those who evaded the drive during the day.
Many people lost their lives during these mass sterilisation campaigns, the legacy of which continues to draw severe criticism five decades later.
’A Nation Turned Into A Prison To Protect Power’: Shivraj Slams Indira
The senior BJP leader accused the Congress of using inhumane tactics to retain power during the Emergency. “This is the DNA of the Congress — to maintain their hold on power, one family subjected the entire nation to mental torture and crushed democracy underfoot. The same people who now roam around with the Constitution had torn it to shreds. They ended our freedom of expression,” he alleged.
Chouhan also questioned the rationale behind declaring Emergency, calling it an authoritarian bid to cling to power. “‘Was there no option apart from Emergency?’ The only intent was to never relinquish power. The belief was, ‘We are the rulers, and only we will rule. No one else in the party can become Prime Minister. I alone will remain PM, no matter what has to be done — crush the Constitution, demolish democracy, turn the whole nation into a prison. What was the problem in letting someone else from the party take over? But no, ‘Only one family must remain, only I must remain; if anyone opposes me, I will crush them’,” he remarked.
Quoting the devastating impact on opposition workers during the Emergency, Chouhan said, “Many poor workers from the Sangh and Jan Sangh — thousands of their families were destroyed, they lost their livelihoods.”
Referring to the use of Article 356, he added, “This same Congress talks about misusing the Constitution, but they are the ones who committed the sin of toppling more than 50 governments using Article 356. Because they believed only they must remain, no one else.”
He also spoke of the brutalities inflicted in jail during the Emergency. “How many people were killed in jail, how many were electrocuted, made to lie on ice slabs, how many families were destroyed. Those families are now questioning us? Tyranny and crushing the people is Congress’ DNA, and in BJP’s DNA, there is democracy — it is in our roots.”
Amit Shah To Flag Off Democracy Yatra
Meanwhile, as the country marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to attend a commemorative event in the national capital on Wednesday. According to the Culture Ministry, Shah will flag off the ‘Long Live Democracy Yatra’, a nationwide campaign aimed at raising awareness about constitutional values, democratic rights, and the lessons from the Emergency.
The ministry, in collaboration with the Delhi government, will commemorate 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' on Wednesday at Thyagaraj Stadium, marking 50 years since the imposition of the Emergency in India on June 25, 1975.
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