- Congress criticises RSS leader for questioning the words 'secular' and 'socialist' in Constitution Preamble
- RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said debate needed on retaining 'secular' and 'socialist' terms
- Congress cited Supreme Court rulings affirming secularism and socialism as basic features of Constitution
The Congress hit out at a senior member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party - after he seemed to advocate removing the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Preamble to the Indian Constitution.
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had said Thursday there should be a 'debate' over retaining the two principles - which many see as central to their idea of what India should be - declaring they had been added in 1976 via the 42nd Amendment and were not in the original Preamble.
Critics of these terms believe the political background - the Congress government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had declared an Emergency the year before, suspending civil liberties and curtailing the functioning of Parliament - meant there are questions over the legitimacy of the amendment itself.
In response to Mr Hosabale's demands the Congress comms chief, Jairam Ramesh, responded on X this morning, slamming the RSS for having "never" accepted the Constitution, and having attacked its founding fathers, including Dr BR Ambedkar and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
He also claimed a "deliberate assault on soul of the Constitution" and a "long-standing conspiracy to dismantle" Dr Ambedkar's vision for a just, inclusive and democratic India.
"In the RSS's own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti," Mr Ramesh said, referring to a 2nd century legal text and its controversial caste- and gender-based provisions.
"The RSS and BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The people decisively rejected this cry... yet demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue..."
"The Chief Justice of India himself delivered a judgment on November 25, 2024, on the issue now being raised by the leading RSS functionary. Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?" the Congress leader concluded on a sarcastic note.
Mr Ramesh was referring to a judgement in which then-Chief Justice Sanjiv Kumar noted that a number of the top court's decisions, including the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharti and 1994 SR Bommai cases had observed that "secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution".
The Chief Justice-led bench had also pointed to the 1994 RC Poudyal case to explain that although the term 'secular' was not in the Constitution earlier, it "essentially represents the nation's commitment to treat persons of all faiths equally and without discrimination".
READ | RSS Leader Calls For Debate On Words "Socialist", "Secular" In Preamble
Perhaps more significantly, the court also observed the original text of the Preamble - i.e., "equality of status and opportunity... individual dignity - read alongside justice - social, economic, political and liberty; of thought, expression, belief, faith... reflect this secular ethos".
READ | Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Against "Socialist", "Secular" In Preamble
The court similarly defended 'socialist' in the Preamble. Its interpretation, it said, "should not be restricted to the economic policies of the government... rather 'socialist' denotes the State's commitment to be a Welfare state... ensuring equality of opportunity and social justice."
"In the Indian framework, socialism embodies the principle of economic and social justice, wherein the State ensures no citizen is disadvantaged due to economic or social circumstances. The word 'socialism' reflects the goal of economic and social upliftment..."
The court also pointed out the writ petitions it was ruling on had been filed first in 2020, "forty-four years after the words 'socialist' and 'secular' became integral to the Preamble", and that made the petitioner's ask "particularly questionable".
"... these terms have achieved widespread acceptance, with their meanings understood by 'We, the people of India' without any semblance of doubt," the court said, noting also the terms "have not restricted or impeded legislations or policies pursued by elected governments..."
With input from agencies
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