Preamble 'not changeable', but was 'changed' during Emergency: Dhankhar
text_fields
New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday underscored the importance of the Preamble, calling it “not changeable” and describing it as the “seed” from which the entire Constitution grows.
He noted that India stands apart in having amended its Preamble.
“The preamble of no other constitution has undergone change except that of India,” he said.
“But this Preamble was changed by the 42nd Constitution (Amendment) Act of 1976,” he added, pointing out that the words “socialist”, “secular”, and “integrity” were added.
“We must reflect,” he said, adding that B. R. Ambedkar did painstaking work on the Constitution, and he must have “surely focused on it.”
His remarks came during a book launch event, shortly after the RSS on Thursday called for a review of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution. The RSS had argued that these terms were introduced during the Emergency and were not part of the Constitution originally draughted by Ambedkar.
The Congress and other opposition parties have strongly criticised RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s proposal for a national debate on the continued inclusion of the terms ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the Preamble of the Constitution, calling it “political opportunism” and a “deliberate assault” on the soul of the Constitution.
Hosabale’s comments advocating a review of the two terms—added during the Emergency period (1975–77)—sparked sharp political reactions. An article published in an RSS-linked magazine, Organiser, clarified the stance, stating that it is not about dismantling the Constitution but about restoring its “original spirit”, free from the “distortions” of the Congress' Emergency-era policies.
Union minister Jitendra Singh and senior BJP leader defended the suggestion by the RSS’s second senior-most functionary, saying any right-thinking citizen will endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Dr B R Ambedkar.
(inputs from PTI)
