BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday slammed RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale for calling to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution.
"The RSS believes in Manusmriti. They have no respect for the Indian Constitution and no faith in democracy," Siddaramaiah told reporters, while responding to a question on Hosabale's call for amending the Constitution.
"They have a mindset of changing the Constitution and imposing Manusmriti in the country. What else can they say apart from it?" the CM said.
According to him, B R Ambedkar headed panel drafted the Indian Constitution, which was later accepted by the constituent assembly after a detailed discussion.
Regarding the call to remove the words 'socialist' and 'secular', Siddaramaiah said, "The words were inserted in the Constitution after a discussion in the Parliament. Amendment to the Constitution cannot be done as per Hosabale's wish," he said.
Addressing an event organised in New Delhi on the Emergency, Hosabale said, "The Preamble of the Constitution, Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words. During the Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, judiciary became lame, then these words were added."
He said discussions were held on this issue later but no effort was made to remove them from the Preamble. So whether they should remain in the Preamble should be considered, he added.
"The Preamble is eternal. Are the thoughts of socialism as an ideology eternal for India?" Hosabale said.
The suggestion from the RSS' second senior-most functionary to consider removing the two terms came as he hit out at the Congress for its Emergency-era excesses and demanded an apology from the party.
The RSS leader's call to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution is not about dismantling it but about restoring its "original spirit", free from the "distortions" of the Congress' Emergency-era policies, said an article published in an RSS-linked magazine on Friday.
