NEW DELHI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday described the inclusion of the words "socialist" and "secular" into the Constitution’s Preamble during the Emergency as a nasoor (a festering wound) and "a sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatana."
His remarks followed a similar call by RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday, who demanded the removal of the two terms, claiming they were "forcibly" inserted during the Emergency and were not part of the Constitution originally drafted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Hosabale’s comments had drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties.
Speaking at the Vice-President’s Enclave during the release of the book Ambedkar’s Messages compiled by D.S. Veeraiah, Dhankhar said, "The Preamble of any constitution is its soul. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is unique. Except for Bharat, no other Constitution’s Preamble has undergone change. The Preamble is not changeable. The Preamble is not alterable. The Preamble is the basis on which the Constitution has grown."
Reiterating his point, Dhankhar said, "The Preamble is the seed of the Constitution. It is the soul of the Constitution. But this Preamble for Bharat was changed by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976, adding the words 'socialist' and 'secular.'"
Targeting the Congress, the Vice-President said the Preamble was altered at a time when "the best of our people were languishing in jails," and the public had been stripped of their basic rights. "We changed something which is not changeable, alterable—something that emanates from ‘We the People’—and then, you change it during the Emergency. When ‘We the People’ were bleeding—in heart, in soul—they were in darkness," he said.
Calling the amendments a betrayal of India’s civilisational values, he added, "These words will create upheaval. The addition of these words in the Preamble during the Emergency signals a betrayal of the mindset of the framers of the Constitution. It is nothing but belittling the civilisational wealth and knowledge of this country for thousands of years. It is sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatana."
Citing judicial observations, Dhankhar said the Preamble is not merely a preface but an essential part of the Constitution. "A very serious work, which cannot be altered, has been casually, farcically, and with no sense of propriety, changed," he said.