No plan or intention to reconsider or remove 'socialism' & 'secularism' from Preamble of the Constitution: Govt
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Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday submitted a written reply in the Rajya Sabha saying there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words ' socialism ' and ' secularism ' from the Preamble of the Constitution inserted during the Emergency period The minister further said that the Centre has not initiated any formal legal or constitutional process to remove the two words from the Preamble of the Constitution.He, however, said there may be discussions or debates in certain political circles. "No formal decision or proposal has been announced by the government" regarding amendments to these terms."The government's official stand is that there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution. Any discussions regarding amendments to the Preamble would require thorough deliberation and broad consensus, but as of now, the government has not initiated any formal process to change these provisions," the minister asserted.He further said that the Supreme Court had dismissed petitions challenging the 1976 amendment, which affirmed that Parliament's power to amend the Constitution extends to the Preamble, in November last year.The court had observed that "socialism" in the Indian context signifies a welfare state and does not impede private sector growth, while "secularism" is integral to the Constitution's basic structure.Meghwal acknowledged that certain groups may be expressing opinions or advocating for reconsideration of these words."Such activities can create a public discourse or atmosphere around the issue, but this does not necessarily reflect the official stance or actions of the government," he said.Last month, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar had said that the words inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution through an amendment during the Emergency era were a "festering wound", indicating support to the call by a top RSS leader for a review of the added terms 'secular' and 'socialist'.
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