Bengaluru, June 24 (IANS): The Karnataka BJP on Monday staged a poster protest at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru condemning the imposition of Emergency in the country in 1975 by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and demanded an apology from senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the same.

Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka who led the protest demanded that the Congress party whose leader Indira Gandhi had imposed Emergency in the country and insulted the Constitution should apologise to the people.

"Rahul Gandhi should bow his head at the Ramlila Maidan and apologise for the same to the people of the country," he stressed.

During Emergency, Indira Gandhi had taken the judiciary into her hands and jailed journalists and leaders like L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"I was studying in class 11th at the VV Pura College in Bengaluru when Emergency was declared in the country. I took part in the protest organised by the RSS in Bengaluru and raised slogans against Indira Gandhi. Then, the police had arrested and tortured me.

“All my family members who were associated with the RSS had to disappear. I was kept in jail for a month. There was one toilet for 200 people. No food was given. Those bitter experiences are still fresh,” R Ashoka claimed.

“The Congress party which made people suffer to such an extent is in power in Karnataka," he stated.

"The Congress party which disregarded the Constitution has to apologise before the nation. They accuse the BJP of planning to change the Constitution but it is the Congress which betrayed the country," Ashoka slammed.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the Constitution is equal to the Bhagavad Gita. At the same time, the Congress had attempted to disregard the same,” he slammed.

Former Deputy Chief Minister, CN Ashwath Narayan and others were present on the occasion.

The police detained the protesters and released them later.