New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee, in his upcoming book, has revisited the entire sequence of events that led to imposition of Emergency in the country in 1975 and has disclosed that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was ignorant of the constitutional provisions that provided for declaring Emergency on grounds of internal disturbance, according to a report published in 'The Telegraph'.
The book titled 'The Dramatic Decade' is the first of a trilogy of “ introspection” penned by President Pranab Mukherjee. The book is set to be released tomorrow and the newspaper report is based on excerpts from the book.
Mukherjee has given details of the sequence of events leading to imposition of Emergency in a chapter titled “Midnight Drama”.
Pranab Mukherjee has the habit of maintaining a diary of daily events and he has quoted his diary extensively while writing this book.
Going back to 1975, Mukherjee reveals how Indira Gandhi summoned the then West Bengal Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray to her residence, 1 Safdarjang Road, in the morning and told him that the country is heading into a crisis because of lawlessness, chaos and anarchy. She shared intelligence reports with him that said Jayaprakash Narayan was working towards a parallel administration and his appeal to the police and the army to disobey orders they deemed illegal.
“ Siddhartha babu then asked Indira Gandhi for some time to consider the possible courses of action and returned later that evening, at about 5pm, to tell her that she could consider” imposing internal Emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution.
“ Indira Gandhi told me subsequently that she was not even aware of the constitutional provisions allowing for a declaration of a state of Emergency on grounds of internal disturbance, particularly since a state of Emergency had already been proclaimed as a consequence of the Indo- Pak conflict in 1971,” writes Pranab in his book.
Indira Gandhi then asked Ray to come along with her to the president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed immediately. She gave the president a summary of what she had told Shri Ray… the president heard her for about twenty minutes to half an hour and then asked Shri Ray as to what were the exact words in the constitution, that the president then told the prime minister to make her recommendation” to promulgate Emergency.
Pranab Mukherjee's book reproduces “top secret” documents, such as the Prime Minister's letter to the President admitting that the decision to impose Emergency was hers alone within the government and was taken without consulting the cabinet as required.
“I shall mention to the cabinet first thing tomorrow morning,” Indira wrote to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
The book gives an idea of how close Ray was to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It was Ray who had hinted to Pranab that he was all set for a better assignment.
“ At the AICC session at Delhi in August 1974, Siddhartha babu told me of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, indicating some of the potential changes. As my diary entry for the day reminds me, he revealed to me that I would get a better portfolio/ assignment. His information proved to be correct as was evident in the reshuffle of October 1974 when I was made minister of state for finance,” writes Mukherjee in his book.
