Festering wound: Vice President backs RSS, slams Emergency-era Preamble edits
Echoing the words of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday slammed the Congress for including the words 'socialist' 'secular' and 'integrity' in the Preamble to the Constitution during the Emergency calling it a 'travesty of justice' and 'sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatana'.Calling the added words nasoor (festering wound), he said that the alterations posed 'existential challenges' and called on the nation to reflect on the original intent of the Constitution's framers.advertisementSpeaking at a book launch in Delhi, he called the Preamble the soul of the Constitution and claimed that the particular portion of the constitution is not changeable.
"The Preamble is not changeable or alterable. It is the basis on which the constitution has grown. The Preamble is the seed of the Constitution. It is the soul of the constitution," said Dhankhar.His remarks came days after RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale called for a national debate on whether the words 'socialist' and 'secular' should remain in the Preamble.Hosabale also argued that these terms were not part of the Constitution as originally drafted by BR Ambedkar and were inserted during the Emergency (1975–77).Referring to the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976, which inserted the three words, he said it was done 'casually, farcically, and with no sense of propriety' during a time when several opposition leaders were jailed under Emergency rule.advertisementHosabale's remarks have sparked a political backlash, with the Congress and other opposition parties accusing the RSS of 'political opportunism' and a 'deliberate assault' on the Constitution's foundational values.We are changing the soul of the Constitution by this flash of words, added during the period of Emergency — the darkest period for the Constitution of the country.These words have been added as . These words will create upheaval. Addition of these words in the Preamble pic.twitter.com/cg2cmzN0r7— Vice-President of India (@VPIndia) June 28, 2025An editorial in Organiser, a magazine affiliated with the RSS, supported the call for review, saying it was not aimed at dismantling the Constitution but at restoring its 'original spirit,' free from what it called 'distortions' introduced during the Congress-led Emergency.'It is nothing but belittling the civilisational wealth and knowledge of this country for thousands of years. It is a sacrilege of the spirit of Sanatan,' the Vice President said.He also noted the tiresome work undertaken by Ambedkar in drafting the constitution and the preamble, and said that the government of the time should have focused on it rather than making changes to it.- EndsWith PTI inputs Must Watch
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