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On the day of January 31, 1976, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi convened a gathering of the Union Cabinet. The Internal Emergency proclaimed 7 months ago, severely curtailing governmental and civilian liberties successful India, was inactive successful force. Earlier that day, Tamil Nadu Governor K.K. Shah – who erstwhile adjacent jocularly remarked his initials stood for Kalaignar Karunanidhi – had sent a lengthy study to the Union government.
Shah, successful his report, said helium was satisfied that a concern had arisen successful which the authorities of the State could nary longer beryllium carried connected successful accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The authorities was headed by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
The Cabinet recommended the acceptance of Shah’s report. That night, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issued a Proclamation nether Article 356 of the Constitution, dissolving the Tamil Nadu Assembly and placing the State nether President’s Rule. The State authorities headed by Karunanidhi was “deemed to person vacated office” pursuing the Presidential Proclamation.
Governor’s report
“This is the archetypal clip that Tamil Nadu has been brought nether President’s Rule. Though the five-year word of the State Assembly was owed to expire connected March 21, the Centre has taken this enactment to dissolve it due to the fact that of the superior concern that has arisen successful the State successful presumption of the Governor’s report,” The Hindu’s New Delhi Correspondent G.K. Reddy reported connected the beforehand leafage of its variation dated February 1, 1976.
“The Governor is understood to person reported that the DMK authorities had indulged successful superior acts of maladministration, corruption and misuse of powerfulness for partisan ends, mounting astatine naught each canons of justness and equity, which were the hallmark of immoderate antiauthoritarian administration. He besides complained that the DMK medication had disregarded the instructions of the Central authorities successful narration to the Emergency, portion misusing the Emergency powers for its ain purposes. Under the guise of demanding greater autonomy, helium pointed retired that the DMK had been encouraging secessionist activities successful the State,” the study said.
Soon, the Commissioner of Police, Madras, issued a prohibitory bid banning meetings, demonstrations, processions and assembly successful the superior metropolis for a play of 14 days. The bid would not use to functions relating to worship, matrimony oregon funeral. The Home Guards were called out.
MGR hails move
M.G. Ramachandran, the wide caput of the ADMK (as AIADMK was known then) hailed the “courageous” enactment of the Prime Minister successful dismissing the “corrupt DMK Government.” “Our enactment would enactment the Prime Minister successful immoderate of her actions specified arsenic this to safeguard ideology successful the country,” helium said successful a property statement. He besides urged the Centre to institute a Commission of Inquiry into the charges of corruption.
In Vellore, connected proceeding astir the government’s dismissal, ADMK MP G. Viswanathan (now VIT chancellor) took retired a procession from the enactment bureau to the Municipal bureau and garlanded the statue of erstwhile Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai and distributed sweets to the public.
Karunanidhi, however, said the radical of Tamil Nadu were staunch believers successful Gandhian and Annadurai’s ideals. He urged them to support peace. He thanked the radical and authorities officials for the practice extended to the DMK authorities during the past 9 years.
One-man commission
On February 3, the Centre announced the assignment of Justice R.S. Sarkaria, a justice of the Supreme Court, arsenic one-man Commission of Inquiry to inquire into the allegations against Karunanidhi and immoderate members of the erstwhile DMK Ministry.
The Central authorities appointed P.K. Dave, Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum, and R.V. Subramanian, Secretary of the Department of Power successful the Ministry of Energy, arsenic Advisers to the Governor successful administering the State.
“The wide anticipation successful Delhi is that a spell of President’s Rule successful Tamil Nadu would bash a batch of bully by reviving its aged estimation for businesslike administration. The prime of the 2 Advisers intelligibly indicates the Centre’s tendency to ore connected the implementation of the economical programmes, portion maintaining instrumentality and bid successful the State,” a study in The Hindu said.
M. Karunanidhi staging a protestation against the Emergency rule, connected Mount Road successful Madras (now Chennai). | Photo Credit: VEDHAN M.
It said, according to reports reaching Delhi, the 2 Advisers took implicit successful Madras soon aft the President signed the Proclamation. “They mislaid nary clip successful coming to grips with the instrumentality and bid concern to guarantee a creaseless power implicit from the DMK medication to President’s Rule. The Centre has taken each imaginable precautions to support bid and tranquility successful the State, which is the superior work of immoderate government,” it said.
‘Brahmin flavour’
Incidentally, immoderate months later, the past Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Godey Murahari (Congress), had told a elder U.S. diplomat determination was an expanding “Brahmin Flavour” to the State authorities nether the President’s rule.
According to a Kissinger-era WikiLeaks’ U.S. cablegram — that became nationalist successful April 2013 — Murahari, who made respective trips to Tamil Nadu, had warned past Congress president D.K. Barooah and Union Minister of State for Home Om Mehta astir this. “They agreed that it had been an mistake to nonstop 2 Brahmin advisers,” Murahari had told the diplomat, referring to Dave and Subramanian. Murahari had claimed owed to reshuffling of IAS officers, 12 of the 14 Government Secretaries and 80 per cent of District Collectors were Brahmins. He felt Subramaniam was “consciously moving successful this direction.” Even section Congress (R) leaders were disgruntled implicit this.
The U.S. Consul General, portion acknowledging the tilt successful favour of Brahmin officers, had, however, informed the American Embassy successful New Delhi that Murahari’s views could not beryllium accepted “in total”.
