Vijay Goel Recalls Emergency Horrors: "Indira Gandhi Strangled the Constitution on June 25, 1975"

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: As the nation observes ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ to mark the anniversary of the Emergency imposed on June 25, 1975, former Union Minister Vijay Goel offered a chilling account of the period he lived through. Speaking at a public event in Delhi, Goel recounted how Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the then Congress government “strangled the Constitution” in a calculated move to cling to power.

“On 25th June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Congress government strangled the Constitution,” Goel said, adding that the purpose of commemorating 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' is to educate today’s three generations who didn’t witness those dark times.

He detailed the underground resistance movement that operated despite tight censorship. “We used to publish underground newspapers like Janwani, Mashal, Mini Motherland, Krantidoot, and Amarvani—and distribute them overnight. The press was censored; nothing could be printed without government approval,” Goel said.

Goel, who was imprisoned during the Emergency, also highlighted the suppression of civil liberties. “Speaking against the government meant jail time. Over 1 lakh people were arrested. A forced sterilisation campaign was run, and there were even proposals to make Indira Gandhi the President for life,” he said.