NEW DELHI: The issue of Sri Lanka arresting Indian fishermen stems from an agreement during Emergency under which their rights for fishing in some specific areas were given up, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

The agreement with Sri Lanka would not have been possible if a genuine Parliament functioned at that time, Jaishankar said at an event organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha to mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.

Big decisions were sometimes taken without any parliamentary debate during the time, he said.

"We hear about our fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka. The reason is that an agreement was entered into during Emergency under which the rights of the fishermen for fishing in some sea waters of Sri Lanka was abandoned," Jaishankar said.

Had a genuine Parliament functioned at the time, there would have been a debate and this decision would not be accepted, the minister said.

The consequences of this decision are still visible in Tamil Nadu, he added.

Jaishankar said the image of India as the oldest, largest democracy in the world took a beating when Emergency was imposed on June 25 1975. He also recalled his own experiences of police raids at hostels of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and his family's links with leaders like George Fernandes.

"I heard from my seniors in the foreign service how difficult it was to defend India after the murder of the Constitution and democracy by the imposition of Emergency," he said.

In a broadside against the Gandhis, Jaishankar said an Emergency situation arises when the "family" is kept ahead of the country. "Some people keep the copy of Constitution in their pockets but have other feelings in their hearts," he said in a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

He said people should be empowered to avoid any situation in the future because an empowered public would never let it happen.