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Congress won't allow rewriting of Constitution: CM Siddaramaiah

Congress won't allow rewriting of Constitution: CM Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday hit out at RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale for pitching for the removal of the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble of the Constitution.
'This is not a casual remark. It is part of a long-standing agenda to reshape India's democracy in their ideological image,' Siddaramaiah said, adding that the statement has come from a leader of the RSS, which is like the high command for the BJP. 'I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his views in this regard to the nation,' Siddaramaiah added.
The CM said that when the Constitution was formed, the words 'socialist' and 'secular' were not there in the Preamble. But then, RSS started targeting on secularism and socialism, and the then PM Indira Gandhi had to amend and included these two words, which has been accepted by people,' he said.
The CM alleged that RSS refused to accept the Constitution when it was adopted. 'Then RSS chief MS Golwalkar praised the Manusmriti as a more authentic guide for India's culture and rejected democracy and equality as Western imports. This is the organisation now claiming to protect Indian values,' Siddaramaiah added. He said before asking others to apologise for history, RSS must first explain why it rejected the very Constitution that protects the rights of all Indians today.

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