Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday stirred another debate, opining that the RSS, which had once demeaned the Constitution, lamenting the absence of inputs from Manusmriti in it, has now moved on from such a position.
"At the time of the adoption of the Constitution, Mr Golwalkar, amongst others, said that one of the great flaws of the Constitution is that there is nothing of the Manusmriti in it. But I think the RSS itself has moved on from those days. So, as a historical statement, it's accurate. Whether it's a reflection of how they feel today, the RSS should be in the best position to answer that," Tharoor told the media after participating in a discussion hosted by the Ahmedabad Management Association on "Diction, Diplomacy, and Discretion."
Tharoor's comment came amid his party's strong condemnation of RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's recent demand to remove the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble to the Constitution.
"During that (Emergency) period, terms like 'socialism' and 'secularism' were forcibly inserted into the Preamble of the Constitution. Today, we must reflect on whether these words should remain there," Hosabale had said.
Condemning the remark as a "deliberate assault on the soul of our Constitution," Congress accused the RSS and BJP of championing an "anti‑constitutional" agenda.
"It is part of a long-standing conspiracy to dismantle Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision for a just, inclusive and democratic India—something the RSS-BJP has always been plotting. Let us not forget: when the Constitution was adopted, the RSS rejected it. They didn’t just oppose it—they burnt it. In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP leaders did not even hide their intent. They declared openly that they needed over 400 seats to rewrite the Constitution," Congress had said in a post on X.
Speaking about the Emergency imposed by the then Congress government 50 years ago, Tharoor said everyone is very clear that it was "a bad period in our history because of a lot of suspensions (of liberties)," but then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself called for elections and gracefully accepted the outcome.
"I think all of us should use this anniversary to re-dedicate ourselves to the Constitution, to the values of freedom, to the values that our founders fought for and established," he said, adding, "I hope everyone uses this 50th anniversary not to play political games and score political points, but rather to re-dedicate ourselves to those ideals."
Tharoor, whose statements in apparent support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been irking his party colleagues, also clarified that his recent visit to Russia was a pre-scheduled engagement, focused on parliamentary outreach and diplomacy.
"It gave me an opportunity to connect with my counterparts," he said adding that he also met his "old friend," the Russian Foreign Minister.
"Fortunately, the government’s delegation had already conveyed India’s message, so my role was simply to reinforce it. Russia has been a long-standing, trusted partner of India, and it’s important to nurture that relationship,” he said.
"As for the visit itself — it included public events, media interviews, and student interactions,” Tharoor added.
"None of the dramatic, James Bond-type speculation people have floated — no secret missions, nothing of that sort," he stressed.