India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar on Friday took a sharp dig at the Congress party over Emergency, accusing it of placing a family’s interests above the nation’s. Jaishankar’s criticism was followed by words of appreciation for opposition leaders, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Kanimozhi among others, who led multi-party delegations on Operation Sindoor’s global outreach. On 50 years of Emergency, Jaishankar said, “Emergency happened because the interest of a family was put ahead of the interest of the nation. Today, the interest of the nation is put first. I have a great sense of pride when I see Parliamentary delegations led by Shashi Tharoor, Supriya Sule, Kanimozhi, Sanjay Jha, Jay Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Shrikant Shinde.” “When I see a unity among all parties going out in the world, speaking in the national interest, giving the message that terrorism is not acceptable and if it continues, we deserve the right to defend ourselves… Every country they went to, they were told, that the most impressive part was that all the parties stood united in representing the country. It was a great moment for us,” EAM said. Seven multi-party delegations visited 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community to emphasise Pakistan’s links to terrorism after the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor led one of the delegations. Jaishankar’s Dig At Congress Over Emergency Launching a scathing attack on Congress, Jaishankar said, “On being asked if she would have changed anything about the Emergency, Indira Gandhi replied with a firm ‘No’. Never has the Congress party, Indira Gandhi and even Rajiv Gandhi, expressed regret.” Jaishankar said that it had been a difficult task for foreign service officers to defend the imposition of Emergency on the global stage. “My seniors in the Foreign Service told me how difficult it was to defend Emergency in the world. India was criticised so much and our image as the ‘mother of democracy’ was tarnished. It was a tough time for being a diplomat.” “After winning the elections in 1971, within a few years, the popularity of the government had drastically dropped. Corruption had increased, inflation was very high, and the tide was not in their favour. People were angry. Agitations were going on in Gujarat and Bihar… People were raising questions on the business of the then ‘yuvraj’. Based on the verdict of the Allahabad High Court, the then Prime Minister was charged with two cases- corrupt practices and misuse of government machinery,” the External Affairs Minister said. “In those 2 years, 5 constitutional amendments were done and 48 ordinances were passed… 38th amendment said that no one could challenge the declaration of Emergency in court… 42nd amendment said that Fundamental rights will be diluted and the power of courts would be reduced…” he added.