Amit Shah slams Congress: 'Binaca Geetmala was stopped because Kishore Kumar had a fallout with Indira Gandhi'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Tuesday, brought up the iconic radio show Binaca Geetmala while sharply criticizing the Congress during a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. Shah referred to the disruption of the program during the Emergency (1975-77) to underscore the restrictions imposed under then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s leadership.

Sharing a personal anecdote, Shah remarked, “I used to listen to Binaca Geetmala, but it suddenly stopped during the Emergency. I argued with my family over why the program was no longer airing. My neighbour informed me that Kishore Kumar had a fallout with Indira Gandhi, leading her to prohibit his songs from being broadcast. As a result, for 19 months, the public heard duet songs of Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar in only Lata ji’s voice.”

Binaca Geetmala, a beloved radio countdown show, aired weekly on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 before moving to the Vividh Bharati Service of All India Radio in 1989, where it continued until 1994. Hosted by Ameen Sayani, the show ranked Bollywood film songs according to their popularity.

Amit Shah invoked this iconic program to highlight the suppression of democracy during the Emergency imposed by the Congress government. He said, “And these people talk about democracy. Such acts led the public to punish them so severely that they cannot even dream of repeating such measures.”

“This debate is needed so that nobody can do such acts ever again,” Amit Shah added.

Amit Shah expanded his critique by connecting the suppression of cultural freedoms to constitutional amendments that limited civil liberties. He remarked, “The first amendment was to curtail the freedom of expression by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru. The 24th Amendment was brought by his daughter Indira Gandhi. On November 24, 1971, the Parliament was given the right to reduce the fundamental rights of the citizens.”

The Union Home Minister also compared the amendments made by Congress and the BJP to the Constitution. He said, “The Opposition says we will change the Constitution. A provision to change the Constitution is already there in our Constitution. The Congress, during its 55 years of rule, made 77 amendments to our Constitution, while the BJP, in 16 years, did so only 22 times."

Shah argued that the Congress altered fundamental constitutional provisions for political advantage, whereas the BJP focused on empowering citizens and improving governance.