Sangh backs Hosable amid row over calls to review Preamble

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday doubled down on its general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's statement about the need to review the inclusion of words 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble to the Constitution of India, saying it was critical to take cognisance of the context in which these words were inserted during Emergency. Dattatreya Hosabale
'What he (Hosabale) said is that it is important to understand the context of how the words were inserted when Emergency was imposed in the country and atrocities and excesses were carried out. He spoke about the things that should be discussed and the need to debate these issues,' RSS chief spokesperson Sunil Ambekar said.
Addressing an event in Delhi on June 26, Hosabale had called for reviewing the insertion of the words 'secular and socialist' in the Preamble. 'During the Emergency, two words, secular and socialist, were added to the Constitution, which were not part of the original Preamble. Later, these words were not removed. Should they remain or not… a debate must happen on this. These two words were not in Dr Ambedkar's Constitution. During the Emergency, the country had no functioning Parliament, no rights, no judiciary and yet these two words were added,' he had said.
The changes were among those made in the contentious 42nd Amendment, passed in 1976.
The RSS general secretary's remarks triggered a political slugfest; with the Opposition Congress accusing the RSS — the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — of wanting to 'destroy' the Constitution.
'The mask of RSS has come off again. The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism and justice,' Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on X. 'The RSS, BJP do not want the Constitution, they want 'Manusmriti'. They aim to strip the marginalised and poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda.'
Ambekar was addressing a press conference in Delhi on the eve of the beginning of the three-day annual meeting of the All India Prant Pracharak, which will be attended by the top brass of RSS, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat.
To a question on the Opposition's allegation that RSS does not give representation to the socially marginalised and backward communities within the organisation, Ambekar said the Sangh is a social organisation that works with the intent to promote social harmony and unity. 'The Sangh does not work like a political party. We work to unite people on the ground and take all sections along…that is the reason why the Sangh attracts support nationwide,' he said.
The RSS functionary also lent support to the Union government's decision to conduct caste enumeration along with the decennial Census. He said while the thrust of the organisation's work is social harmony, whatever work needs to be done for the welfare of the people should be carried out. 'The government can take whatever information is needed for that,' he added.
Giving details of the three-day meeting, which will be attended by 233 RSS functionaries taking stock of the work undertaken by various offshoots of the organisation, Ambekar said the centenary year of the Sangh is the main agenda of the meeting.
'All the programmes (to mark the centenary year) that had been announced, their working will be discussed. Hindu sammelans (conferences) to discuss important issues will be held across the country, beginning Vijayadashami on October 2,' he said.
The RSS will complete 100 years of its foundation on Vijayadashmi this year, which falls on October 2. As part of the centenary outreach, volunteers will organise door-to-door interactions called 'Griha Sampark', giving details about the ideology and work of the Sangh and share literature about its functioning, the functionary said.
'Meetings of eminent persons at district levels will be held after the Vijayadashami programme. Special sessions with Bhagwat ji will be held in four cities — Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata,' Ambekar added.
The three-day meeting is also expected to take stock of issues related to national security, as well as those pertaining to illegal immigration and atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.