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‘No two opinions’: Jitendra Singh backs RSS call for removal of ‘secular’, ‘socialist’ from Constitution's Preamble
Dr Singh said if ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ weren’t part of Dr Ambedkar’s vision, one must ask what ideology led to their later inclusion in the Constitution.
Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday backed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s comments regarding the insertion of the words “secular” and “socialist” into the Constitution’s Preamble, saying that there is no room for differing views on the matter.
“I don’t think there are two opinions on this. Dattatreya ji has rightly pointed out that the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ were added through the 42nd Amendment, and were not part of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s original vision,” Singh told reporters in Jammu.
“Dr Ambedkar produced one of the best Constitutions in the world. If these words were not part of his thinking, then one must ask—what kind of thinking led to their later inclusion?” he added.
When asked about Dattatreya Hosabale’s remarks advocating the removal of the terms from the Preamble, Dr Singh responded by saying,
“I think any right-thinking citizen will endorse it, because everybody knows this was not the part of the original Constitution, which was written by Dr Ambedkar and rest of the committee… It's not BJP versus non-BJP, it is about preserving democratic values, preserving the constitutional values,” the minister said.
Taking a veiled dig at the Congress leaders, the minister also said, "Those who are flaunting the Constitution book are actually the biggest violators of the Constitution.”
What Hosabale said on ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in Preamble
Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday demanded that the Congress must apologise for the imposition of Emergency by the Indira Gandhi government 50 years ago.
While addressing an event in New Delhi, Hosabale strongly called for the removal of the words “socialist” and “secular” from the Preamble of the Constitution, saying that they were inserted by the Congress government during the Emergency.
Recalling the Emergency imposed on June 25, 1975, RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale said thousands were jailed and tortured, while the freedom of the judiciary and media was brutally curtailed.
“Those who did such things are today moving around with the Constitution's copy. They have still not apologised... Apologise,” he said.
