NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government on Thursday said that it had "no current plans" to remove the words ' socialism ' and ' secularism ' from the Preamble.
Noting the recent calls to review the insertion of the two words in the Preamble during Emergency period, Centre said that "no formal decision or proposal has been announced by the government."
"The government's official stand is that there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution . Any discussions regarding amendments to the Preamble would require thorough deliberation and broad consensus, but as of now, the government has not initiated any formal process to change these provisions," Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Commenting on the discourse stirred by some social organisations, Meghwal said that certain groups might be voicing their opinions or calling for a re-evaluation of specific terms.
"Such activities can create a public discourse or atmosphere around the issue, but this does not necessarily reflect the official stance or actions of the government," he said.
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, last month, triggered a political uproar, after he called for a national debate on retaining the terms "secular" and "socialist" in the Preamble.
Then Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar weighed in, asserting that the Preamble was sacrosanct and “not changeable.” He went a step further, calling the addition of those words a “sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatan.”
Hosabale's comment triggered backlash from leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who said that "RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution; they want 'Manusmriti'".
"The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism, and justice. The RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution; they want 'Manusmriti'. They aim to strip the marginalized and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," Gandhi had said.
Noting the recent calls to review the insertion of the two words in the Preamble during Emergency period, Centre said that "no formal decision or proposal has been announced by the government."
"The government's official stand is that there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution . Any discussions regarding amendments to the Preamble would require thorough deliberation and broad consensus, but as of now, the government has not initiated any formal process to change these provisions," Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Commenting on the discourse stirred by some social organisations, Meghwal said that certain groups might be voicing their opinions or calling for a re-evaluation of specific terms.
"Such activities can create a public discourse or atmosphere around the issue, but this does not necessarily reflect the official stance or actions of the government," he said.
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, last month, triggered a political uproar, after he called for a national debate on retaining the terms "secular" and "socialist" in the Preamble.
Then Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar weighed in, asserting that the Preamble was sacrosanct and “not changeable.” He went a step further, calling the addition of those words a “sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatan.”
Hosabale's comment triggered backlash from leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who said that "RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution; they want 'Manusmriti'".
"The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism, and justice. The RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution; they want 'Manusmriti'. They aim to strip the marginalized and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," Gandhi had said.
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