Latest news with #42ndConstitutionalAmendmentAct


Deccan Herald
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Playing with the preamble: A long-running project
While it is true that 'socialist' and 'secular' were inserted in the preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act during the Emergency, which remains a dark chapter in the history of free India, it is not true that the values go against the spirit of the Constitution.


The Hindu
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vaiko condemns RSS general secretary's call for removal ‘secular', ‘socialist' from Preamble
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko on Friday condemned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale for suggesting to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' that were inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, during the Emergency. Referring to the recent speech of Mr. Hosabale who had questioned the inclusion of these two terms, claiming that they were not part of the original Preamble and should be deleted, Mr. Vaiko said: 'The RSS and other Hindutva forces have been consistently calling to rewrite the Constitution to impose their idea of a Hindu Rashtra, aimed at dismantling India's pluralistic character and imposing a homogenous national identity based on one religion, one language, one culture, and one nation.' Referring to a Supreme Court verdict that upheld the power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution under Article 368 includes amending the Preamble as well, Mr. Vaiko, in a statement, alleged that the BJP government's actions over the last ten years have undermined the core values of the Constitution such as sovereignty, socialism, secularism, democracy, republic, equality, fraternity, dignity, and national unity. He said 'Democratic and progressive forces across the country should come together and oppose the Hindutva forces' attempts to subvert the Constitution.'