'Secularism goes against Indian idea': Assam CM Himanta Biswa backs RSS call to remove words from Constitution; adds 'socialism never our vision'
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday backed RSS's suggestion to restore the Preamble of the Constitution, saying that this is the right time to remove the legacies of the Emergency, including the words "secularism" and "socialism.
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While launching a book titled The Emergency Diaries: Years That Forged a Leader at the state BJP headquarters in Guwahati, Biswa said that these words were not part of the original Constitution and should be dropped, as secularism goes against the Indian idea of Sarva Dharma Sambhava, and socialism was never part of India's original economic vision.
"Today, we launched the book The Emergency Diary, which talks about the struggle and resistance during the Emergency.
When we talk about the Emergency, this is the right moment to remove its remaining impact, just like Prime Minister Modi is working to erase the legacy of colonial rule. Two major outcomes of the Emergency were the addition of the words secularism and socialism to our Constitution. I believe secularism goes against the Indian idea of Sarva Dharma Sambhava.
Socialism was also never truly our economic vision, our focus has always been on Sarvodaya Antyodaya," Biswa said.
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"So, I request the Government of India to remove these two words, secularism and socialism, from the Preamble, as they were not part of the original Constitution and were added later by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi," he added.
This comes a day after Hosabale proposed that the words "socialist" and "secular" were forcibly added to the Constitution and should now be reconsidered.
"The Emergency wasn't just a misuse of power, but an attempt to crush civil liberties.
Millions were imprisoned, and freedom of the press was suppressed." He said that those who imposed the Emergency and trampled the Constitution and democracy have never apologised.
The words "socialist", "secular", and "integrity" were inserted into the Preamble under the 42nd Constitutional Amendment moved by the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi government in 1976.
The amendment changed the description of India in the Preamble from a "sovereign, democratic republic" to a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic."
Earlier, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging the inclusion of the words "socialist", "secular", and "integrity" to the Preamble of the Constitution.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said amendment power of the Parliament extends to the Preamble as well, and the fact that the Constitution was adopted in 1949 does not make any difference.
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