Maharashtra Congress President Harsvardhan Sapkal launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of political hypocrisy, constitutional subversion, and promoting an undeclared emergency in the country, on the 50th anniversary of the Indira Gandhi government imposed Emergency.
Sapkal questioned the BJP’s stand on the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975, highlighting that even then-RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras had supported the move and had publicly distanced the RSS from Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement. He challenged the BJP to clarify whether it accepts or disowns Deoras’s stance, accusing the party of exploiting the Emergency issue for political mileage while ignoring its own ideological history.
“Bharatiya Janata Party government has indulged in a wasteful expenditure of crores of rupees today on advertising related to the Emergency. The official advertisement does not feature the national emblem but instead shows the Sengol. It’s unnecessary to explain what the Sengol symbolizes. BJP wants to abolish democracy and the Constitution to implement Golwalkar Bunch of Thoughts”, said Harshavardhan Sapkal.
Raising concerns over a recent government advertisement campaign commemorating the Emergency, Sapkal accused the BJP of misusing public funds. He criticized the symbolic replacement of the national emblem with the Sengol in official advertisements, calling it part of a larger conspiracy to alter the Constitution and promote the RSS’s ideological text, ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ by M.S. Golwalkar.
To counter the BJP’s “false propaganda,” the grand old party has released a special Emergency edition of its monthly magazine Janmanasachi Shidori.
Sapkal also demanded a high-level probe into alleged voter fraud in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s assembly constituency. Citing RTI findings accessed by Congress candidate Prafull Gudde Patil, Sapkal revealed that the number of registered voters had increased by 8%, with many voters linked to a single mobile number. He said the Election Commission had recommended verification, but no action had followed. He called on Fadnavis to step down from his position until a fair investigation is completed.
“The Election Commission had directed a verification, but it was never conducted. Gudde Patil has also filed two petitions in court. Fadnavis has not answered any of these allegations. A high-level investigation should be conducted into this voter fraud, and until then, Fadnavis should step down from his position,” Sapkal further added.
In addition, Sapkal raised questions about the alleged misuse of public funds by members of the Estimates Committee of the Parliament and State Legislature. He pointed to reports of a royal feast worth ₹5,000 per head served in silver plates costing ₹550 each at Dhule Guest House, asking whether the expenses were drawn from committee funds. He criticized the government’s priorities, stating that while there is no money for farmers’ loan waivers or financial assistance to women, there appears to be ample resources for luxurious self-indulgence.
Sapkal warned that the nation is facing a "dangerous erosion of democratic norms" under the BJP-led government and reaffirmed the Congress party’s commitment to upholding constitutional values and protecting the democratic fabric of the country.
