Swaminathan Gurumurthy, who has been associated with the RSS, said on Thursday that Emergency was imposed in 1975 as the Congress had become the asset of "one family", and the country continues to face the threat of Emergency because of weakening of its institutions over the decades.
At a ''webinar'' organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation on Emergency, which was imposed on this day 45 years ago by then prime minister Indira Gandhi, Gurumurthy said as long as family-run parties with no internal democracy and cadre participation in its functioning are there, there is always a threat of Emergency.
Gurumurthy also edits Tamil weekly Thuglak.
"Our polity may not prevent an emergency today," he said and stressed on the need for institutions to become intellectually stronger and regain moral positions, which they had lost earlier.
"The coterie and echo system that facilitated Emergency remains there," Gurumurthy said, adding that there is a need to make judiciary intellectually and morally strong.
K N Govindacharya, who was once an important RSS and BJP functionary, said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had provided the main orgasnisational infrastructure for underground campaign against Emergency while Jayaprakash Narayan became the movement''s credible leadership face.
Govindacharya, as an RSS functionary, was actively involved in the student agitation in Bihar and later in the campaign against Emergency.
After Indira Gandhi announced Lok Sabha elections, her government offered to lift the ban on the RSS if it kept away from opposition but it refused, he said.
Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently asked people to beat utensils and light candles to boost campaign against the coronavirus, Govindacharya said these practices were used in the mass campaign against the Indira Gandhi government.
Former Prasar Bhasrti chairperson A Surya Prakash said it was important for every generation to know the reasons behind the imposition of Emergency so that it is never repeated.
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