Who is Advani hinting at with Emergency remarks, asks Sena

With L K Advani cautioning that an Emergency-like situation cannot be ruled out again, the Shiv Sena on Monday said the veteran leader’s remarks cannot be ignored and it needs to be known who these observations are meant for.

“L K Advani is the biggest leader of the country who has seen all seasons and has gone through all ups and downs. Today even if he is not in mainstream politics, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and media knows he cannot be ignored. Thus, when he said that an Emergency-like situation cannot be ruled out again, discussions have once again focused on him,” the Sena said in an edit in its mouthpiece Saamna.

“When Advani laid down his fear of an Emergency again, he is definitely pointing at somebody. Now the question is who is this person that Advani is hinting at ? How can his fears be mitigated?” it asked.

The Sena said that Advani is a witness to the Emergency of 1975, where political leaders were put behind bars without sufficient reasons and there was a complete lawlessness in the country.

“Suddenly after 40 years, what made Advani think that Emergency can recur and democracy will be crushed ?” it asked.

It further said that today, media, especially social media has become stronger than ever and that its difficult to imagine a situation that democracy can once again be crushed.

“At the same time, one cannot ignore the comment of a senior leader like Advani. If he (Advani) wants to hint at the internal affairs of the BJP, he should clearly speak out. Because in the past, leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi and Kirti Azad too have spoken,” the Sena said.

Recently, the former deputy prime minister in an interview to a national daily had said, “At the present point of time, the forces that can crush democracy notwithstanding the constitutional and legal safeguards are stronger.”

“Today, I do not say that the political leadership is not mature. I don’t have faith because of its weaknesses. I don’t have the confidence that it (Emergency) cannot happen again,” Advani, who is now a member of the BJP’s Margadarshak Mandal, and was incarcerated during the Emergency along with a number of opposition stalwarts then, had said.