Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday confirmed in the Rajya Sabha that while there are demands from certain sections to drop the terms "socialist" and "secular" from the Preamble to the Constitution, the government has no pending proposal or inclination towards making such an amendment.
Replies in writing to a question by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, Meghwal said: "There is no formal process initiated by the Indian government by which the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' have been dropped from the Preamble of the Constitution. Though there can be some discussions or debates within certain political or public forums, no official announcement or decision has been made by the government for amending these words."
His comment comes in the wake of recent remarks by RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale that there must be a national debate on whether these two words—inserted during the Emergency—need to be deleted from the Constitution.
Suman had asked if "office-bearers of some social organisations" were trying to cultivate a congenial atmosphere for deletion of the words from the Preamble.
Clarifying the difference between such public opinion and the governmental stance, Meghwal stated: "In so far as the environment generated by office-bearers of some social organizations is concerned, it may be possible that some groups are making comments or seeking reconsideration of these words. Such things can generate a public discourse or environment around the subject, but this cannot be taken as an official position or action by the government."
Meghwal also invoked a recent Supreme Court judgment in the matter of Dr. Balram Singh and Others vs Union of India (November 2024), where the top court had upheld the presence of the words through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment. The court, he stated, reiterated that "socialism" in India is a welfare state and does not stifle private enterprise, whereas "secularism" is an integral part of the Constitution's underlying framework.
Echoing the stand of the government, Meghwal said: "The official government stance remains that there is no plan or proposal at present. There is no intention to take out the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution. Any move to discuss amendments to the Preamble would need detailed consideration and wide consensus. But at present, the government has not undertaken any formal exercise to alter these provisions."
While the question was scheduled to be discussed on the Question Hour of the Rajya Sabha as a starred question, the session was disrupted and adjourned prior to its being taken up orally.
Hosabale’s remarks, made on June 26 during the release of a book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975, reignited the debate. Speaking at the Ambedkar International Centre, he urged the Congress party to apologize for the Emergency and called for a renewed conversation about the constitutional validity of the words “socialist” and “secular,” which were inserted through the 42nd Amendment in 1976.
"No effort was made to exclude them (socialist and secular) later on. Therefore, there must be a debate on whether they can stay or not. I am saying this in a building (Ambedkar International Centre) that is named after Babasaheb Ambedkar, whose Constitution did not include these words in the Preamble," Hosabale said at the function.
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