Under fire, govt says won’t drop ‘secular, socialist’ from Preamble

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 29

The government today sought to allay fears of the Opposition over highlighting the original Preamble of the Indian Constitution — which doesn’t bear the words “secular” and “socialist” — in its Republic Day advertisements saying it was committed to secularism.

As unease soared in the political and social circles over government’s intention behind the advertisements, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the government had “no intention of dropping the word from the Preamble”.

BJP’s ally PMK joined the Opposition — JD-U and Samajwadi Party — and Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Tushar Gandhi in voicing concerns around the government move to present to the people the Preamble without crucial additions made to the Constitution by the then Indira Gandhi government at the height of Emergency in 1976. The government’s defence appeared weak today, coming a day after Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stoked fears advocating a debate on the need to have the two words in the Preamble. “Let there be a debate and let us see what the nation wants,” Prasad said.

The Congress questioned the government for speaking in different voices on the sensitive issue and demanded an apology from the ruling BJP citing its doubtful credentials on secularism and its very recent stand on reconversions and on ministers making anti-Muslim remarks.

“Nothing short of an apology from the government is acceptable. We cannot allow the BJP’s sectarian agenda to reign,” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told The Tribune referring to Prasad’s statements hinting that one does not need the word “secular” in the Preamble to be secular.

“The 42nd amendment to the Constitution was made in 1976 and it is a reality. The government must honour the amended Preamble which comprises the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’. The fact that they are speaking in different voices on the ad casts doubts on their intention. They must apologise,” said Surjewala even as PMK chief S Ramadoss snubbed his party’s fellow ally in the NDA, the Shiv Sena, for seeking permanent deletion of the words from the Preamble.

“The Sena’s demand is shocking. The BJP must stick to the development agenda on which it came to power,” Ramadoss said with Tushar Gandhi terming Sena’s demand as reprehensible and contemptuous arising from ignorance and bigotry. Sena leader Sanjay Raut had yesterday demanded deletion of “secular” and “socialist’ from the Preamble arguing India was formed on a religious basis and even the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru had not insisted on the word “secular” in the Preamble.

With the government appearing weak in its defence of the omissions, the Congress-led Opposition said it would raise the issue in the upcoming Parliament session.

Prior to Prasad, Minister of State Information Rajyavardhan Rathore had defended the government ads saying they show cased the original Preamble. Subhask Kashyap, a constitutional expert, said: “This controversy is needless.

The government in its R-Day ads showed the Preamble on which the Indian Republic was born. The words were included by an amendment and can similarly be reversed through constitutional procedures. That’s the technical position.”