NEW DELHI: Marginalised politician and former “Iron Man” of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lal Kishan Advani has warned there could be a fresh spell of emergency rule in the country, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday appeared to agree.

“Forces that can crush democracy have become stronger” in India, Mr Advani told Indian Express on Thursday. His remarks are being seen by rival parties as a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Advani ji is correct in saying that emergency can’t be ruled out. Is Delhi their first experiment?” tweeted Mr Kejriwal, whose government is locked in an ugly power tussle with the Centre.”

At the present point of time, the forces that can crush democracy, notwithstanding the constitutional and legal safeguards, are stronger,” Mr Advani said.

He was speaking on the 40th anniversary next week of the 1975 Emergency, when the Congress government jailed opposition leaders and imposed severe curbs on the media.

“I do not say that the political leadership is not mature. But because of the shortcomings, I don’t have the confidence that it (Emergency) cannot happen again,” said the 87-year-old BJP veteran, adding, “I do not see any sign in our polity that assures me, any outstanding aspect of leadership. A commitment to democracy and to all other aspects related to democracy is lacking.”

Opposition parties were less circumspect in suggesting who Mr Advani’s target was.”

LK Advani is a senior politician so it is clear where the needle of suspicion is. We have seen the authoritarian streak in the Modi government,” said Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). Mr Yechury spent a short term in prison during the emergency.

Mr Advani spent the entire tenure behind bars. The Congress party’s Tom Vadakkan saw the comments as a clear denunciation of Mr Modi’s leadership. Mr Advani, who had once tried unsuccessfully to persuade his party against picking Mr Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, was assigned the role of “mentor” and kept out of decision-making soon after the party took power last year.”

Advani ji was referring to institutions rather than pointing towards any individual,” said former Congress MP turned BJP spokesperson M.J. Akbar.” He (Advani) is quite senior in age and experience. So he can talk to Modi. I don’t think he intends any message to Modi through the interview,” said M.G. Vaidya, a leader of the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Published in Dawn June 19th, 2015

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