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Hans India
24 minutes ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Preamble tampering a blot on Constitution, betrayal of Sanatan soul: VP Dhankhar
New Delhi: In a strongly worded speech resonating with the ideological spectrum of the RSS, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday launched a blistering critique of the 1976 amendment to the Constitution's Preamble, calling it a 'nasoor' (festering wound) and an "unpardonable insult to the Sanatan soul of India." Speaking at a book release function at the Vice President's residence, the VP said, 'The Preamble is the soul of the Constitution. It was disfigured during the darkest phase of Indian democracy – the Emergency – when terms like 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity' were inserted under coercion.' Calling the 42nd Amendment 'an unjust and illegitimate act,' the VP said, 'We altered something that should never have been changed. And that too, not by the will of the people but at a time when the people, the source of power, were behind bars.' Resonating with long-standing RSS criticism of the secular and socialist labels, the Vice President remarked that no other country in the world has tampered with the Preamble of its Constitution and described the 1976 additions as "a betrayal of our civilisational ethos and the intentions of our Constitution makers." Quoting from landmark Supreme Court judgments like Kesavananda Bharati and Golaknath, he reminded the audience that the apex court has always treated the Preamble as the guiding light of the Constitution. Referring to B.R. Ambedkar as a 'visionary who lives in our soul,' the Vice President said the sanctity of the Constitution must be preserved and warned against the growing political polarisation and caste-based divisions that threaten India's unity. The remarks given by the Vice President are likely to intensify the ongoing debate around restoring the 'original Preamble', a demand growing louder in saffron circles. RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday triggered a political storm when he demanded the removal of the terms 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution, alleging that they were inserted 'forcibly' during the Emergency period. Since then, opposition parties, including Congress and other national and regional parties, have upped their ante against the RSS for pushing a narrative which has long been brewing in the saffron camps for decades.
India Today
2 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
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 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 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 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 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 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 words have been added as . These words will create upheaval. Addition of these words in the Preamble 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 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
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Preamble Not Changeable,, but Was Changed in 1976 During Emergency: VP Dhankhar Stirs Debate
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has reignited a fierce constitutional debate by declaring that while the Preamble is not meant to be changeable, it was altered in 1976 during the Emergency. His remarks follow the RSS's latest call to remove 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble—terms that were added via the 42nd Amendment under Indira Gandhi's regime. The RSS claims these words were not part of Ambedkar's original vision, and questions their legitimacy. Congress and the Opposition, including Rahul Gandhi, have slammed the RSS, accusing it of undermining the Constitution. With Dhankhar noting that India is perhaps the only country whose Preamble has been amended, this controversy is once again fuelling the ideological tug-of-war over India's founding values. #jagdeepdhankhar #constitutionofindia #emergency #congress #rahulgandhi #rss #congress #preambledebate #42ndamendment #dhankhar #rssvscongress #secularsocialist #emergency1976 #toi #toibharat #bharat #breakingnews #indianews
Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Preamble not changeable yet changed during Emergency: V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar amid RSS call row
The Preamble of a Constitution is not changeable, but it was changed in 1976, said Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday. His remark came amid an ongoing controversy over the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) seeking removal of the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble. "We must reflect", said Jagdeep Dhankhar as he reminded people that the Preamble of the Constitution was changed in 1976. (PTI) While Dhankhar agreed that the Preamble is the "seed" on which the Constitution grows, he also reminded people that it was changed during Emergency in 1976, and the the words "socialist", "secular", and "integrity" were added to it. "We must reflect," Dhankhar said, underscoring that when B R Ambedkar formulated the Constitution, he must have "surely focused on it". He also said that India is the only country that has seen the Preamble of its Constitution undergo a change. What is the Preamble row? RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has objected to the use of words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution, and has sought their removal. The demand has sparked a controversy, with the BJP defending it and the Opposition calling it an insult to the Constitution and its framers. Hosabale argues that these terms were forcibly added to the Constitution and need to be reconsidered in the present times. 'Those who did such things are today moving around with the Constitution's copy. They have still not apologised... Apologise,' he said, in a veiled dig at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi. This is not the first such call seeking removal of these terms. In November last year, the Supreme Court dismissed a series of petitions challenging the 1976 amendment. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment used to bring about these modifications in the Constitution was introduced by the erstwhile Indira Gandhi-led government during Emergency, from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977. 'Mask of RSS has come off' Congress says the RSS is calling for modifications to the Preamble as it is upset that the document is not "inspired by Manusmriti". Rahul Gandhi also joined in the criticism for this call. "The mask of RSS has come off again," he said. "RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution. They want Manusmriti. They aim to strip the marginalised and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," the Congress leader posted on X. Meanwhile, several BJP leaders have echoed the call raised by the RSS general secretary, saying secularism has been imported from the West and and does not represent Indian culture. "The basic sentiment of India is equality of all religions... Secularism is not the core of our culture," former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan told news agency ANI. Many other BJP leaders believe that any citizen would amplify RSS's demand as the modifications made during Emergency were not part of the original Constitution written by Dr B R Ambedkar. (With PTI, ANI inputs)
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Preamble of Constitution ‘not changeable' but was changed during Emergency, claims V-P Dhankhar
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday (June 28, 2025) asserted that the Preamble of a Constitution is "not changeable" as it is the "seed" on which the document grows. He said the preamble of no other Constitution has undergone change except that of India. "But this Preamble was changed by the 42nd Constitution (Amendment) Act of 1976," he said noting that the words "socialist", "secular", and "integrity" were added. "We must reflect," he said adding that B.R. Ambedkar did painstaking work on the Constitution and he must have "surely focused on it". RSS calls for review His remarks at a book launch event here came after the RSS on Thursday called for reviewing the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by Ambedkar. The Congress and other opposition parties have slammed RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's call for a national debate on whether the terms 'secular' and 'socialist' should remain in the Preamble, terming it "political opportunism" and a "deliberate assault" on the soul of the Constitution. As Mr. Hosabale's strong pitch for a review of the two words inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency days (1975-77) kicked up a political row, an article published in an RSS-linked magazine Organiser said it is not about dismantling the Constitution but about restoring its "original spirit", free from the "distortions" of the Congress' Emergency-era policies. Union Minister Jitendra Singh sought to defend the call by the second senior-most functionary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying any right-thinking citizen will endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
