The opposition calls it an ‘attack’ on the Constitution.
New Delhi:
The absence of the words “socialist, secular” in English copies of the constitution distributed to parliamentarians yesterday has sparked a huge controversy a day after the special session was officially moved to the new parliament building.
The opposition calls it an ‘attack’ on the Constitution.
Responding to the allegation, Law Minister Arjun Meghwal said the copies contained the “original version” of the preamble of the Constitution. “When the Constitution was drafted, it did not contain the words ‘socialist, secular’. These words were included in the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976,” he pointed out.
The comment sparked more protests as the opposition accused the government of pushing for major change without following due process. However, the Hindi copies of the Constitution had the correct version, raising questions about whether the “change” was unintentional or intentional.
“The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us, the one we held in our hands and entered (the new Parliament building), its preamble does not contain the words ‘socialist secular’,” Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said. questioning the intentions of the ruling BJP.
“We know the words were added after an amendment in 1976, but if someone gives us the Constitution today and those words are not in it, then that is a concern. Their intention is suspect. It’s cleverly done. It is a serious matter and we will raise this issue,” he said.
“I doubt their intentions as their hearts don’t seem to be clear on this,” Mr Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, added.
CPI-M’s Binoy Viswam termed the inaction a “crime”.
On the opening day of the new parliament building, copies of the constitution were distributed in a gift bag, which was presented to parliamentarians.
The preamble to the Constitution originally described India as a “sovereign, democratic republic”.
During the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government, several changes were made by the 42nd Amendment, including adding the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ between ‘sovereign’ and ‘democratic’ and changing ‘unity of the nation’. “to “unity and integrity of the nation.”
In 1978, many of the changes were reversed, but the amended preamble was retained.
In 1994, the Supreme Court said that “secularism” is part of the basic structure doctrine, meaning that certain basic characteristics cannot be erased.
Once an amendment is notified, the old constitution should go out of print, opposition leaders said. Any change to the Constitution would therefore be tampering, they claimed.
