Oppn train guns on RSS over call to remove ‘secular, socialist’ from Preamble; BJP leaders come to defence

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s comments pitching to remove the words “secular and socialist” from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution has sparked massive outrage in the political circle with the opposition leaders and parties labelling it as an “insult to the Constitution” and an attack on its framers, including Babasaheb Ambedkar.

However, BJP leaders and alliance party Shiv Sena came to defend the RSS leader, reiterating their stand that secularism has been imported from the West and represents Western values and not Indian culture.

Attacking the RSS, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the Sangh of “never accepting the Constitution”. He claimed that they have targeted framers of the Constitution since its inception for not being “inspired by Manusmriti”.

“The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949, onwards. In the RSS’s own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti. The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr Modi’s campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem,” read a post by the Congress leader on X.

KC Venugopal lashed out at Hosabale’s statement, claiming that the leader’s remarks were an insult to the Constitution, a rejection of its values, and a direct attack on the Supreme Court.

“A senior RSS member surely knows that the Supreme Court declared socialism and secularism to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Yet, to take this stand is a clear insult to the Constitution, a rejection of its values, and a direct attack on the Supreme Court of India as well,” he posted on X.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah cautioned that the call for the removal of the words “secular and socialist” must not be understood as a “casual remark” but a “long-standing agenda” to reshape the country’s democracy. He highlighted RSS’ persistent opposition to the mention of the terms secularism and socialism in the Constitution, which Siddaramaiah said were the “core values of the constitution”.

He added that it was a part of the long-standing agenda of the Sangh to reshape India’s democracy within their ideological purview.

“The RSS has always opposed the core values of our Constitution – secularism and socialism. Now, their leaders are once again saying these words should be removed from the Preamble. This is not a casual remark – it is part of a long-standing agenda to reshape India’s democracy in their ideological image,” the Karnataka CM posted on X.

Focusing on the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to the marginalised communities, the Karnataka CM said, “If not for these constitutional values, people like me would never have had the chance to study, speak, or serve. That is the power of justice, equality, and secularism.”

Siddaramaiah explained that the original Preamble didn’t include “secular and socialist” since it was obvious that India would be a socially just democracy, and these terms were added later at a time when the RSS and its affiliates were attacking these values.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi added to the criticism while stating that RSS intended to violate the rights of the marginalised and the poor while enslaving them. “The mask of RSS has come off again,” he added.

“RSS-BJP doesn’t want the Constitution. They want Manusmriti. They aim to strip the marginalised and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda,” the Congress leader posed on X.

On the other hand, BJP leaders, including Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, have come in defence of the remarks made by Hosabale, reiterating their argument that secularism was not fundamental to Indian culture and that “any right-thinking person” would support such a demand as these terms were not part of the original Constitution.

“The basic sentiment of India is equality of all religions… Secularism is not the core of our culture. The word secularism was added (to our culture) during the Emergency. It should be removed… Live and let live is the basic sentiment of India… Therefore, there is no need for socialism here… There is no need for the word socialism (Samajwad) either. The country should think about this,” Chouhan told ANI.

Singh emphasised that the words “secular” and “socialist” were added later, through the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution during the Emergency, and not by the original drafters.

“Dattatreya Hosabale has stated that the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ were added to our Preamble after the Amendment. Dr Ambedkar has crafted one of the world’s finest constitutions. If this was not his thinking, how did someone add these words?” the junior minister added.

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC extended support to Hosabale’s suggestion while reiterating that the demand to re-examine the original draft prepared by Dr BR Ambedkar stems from the view that in a republic like India, invoking terms such as “socialist or pseudo-secular” is no longer necessary.

“The RSS is demanding to look into the original draft of the Preamble by Dr BR Ambedkar, in which there is no mention of these words. And the socialism, secularism, that is actually a symbol of India or a symbol of civilisational ethos, then why was it not in the original draft?” Shaina NC questioned.

This development comes after Hosabale questioned the legitimacy of including the terms “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution on Thursday while addressing a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (under the Ministry of Culture), Ambedkar International Centre.

He remarked that during the Emergency, terms like “socialism” and “secular” were forcibly inserted into the Constitution—a move that needs to be reconsidered today.

He emphasised that the Emergency wasn’t just a misuse of power but an attempt to crush civil liberties. Millions were imprisoned, and freedom of the press was suppressed.

He said that those who imposed the Emergency and trampled the Constitution and democracy have never apologised. If they cannot apologise personally, they should do so on behalf of their ancestors. (ANI)