Indian Youth Congress lodges complaint against RSS leader Hosabale's Preamble remarks

Time of India

11 hours ago

The Karnataka Unit of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) Legal Cell on Sunday lodged a formal complaint against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale for calling for a reconsideration of the inclusion of the terms "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
The complaint was lodged at the Sheshadripuram Police Station by Legal Cell Chairman Sridhar, Co-Chairman Samrudh Hegde, and other office-bearers and advocates.
The complaint specifically refers to Hosabale's remarks on June 26 during a public gathering commemorating the Emergency, where he called for the reconsideration and removal of the words from the Preamble.
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Sridhar, in a letter attached along with the complaint, stated, "On 26th June 2025, while addressing a public gathering commemorating the Emergency, Mr. Hosabale openly stated that the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble to the Constitution should be reconsidered and removed. These remarks, made at a politically sensitive event by a high-ranking ideologue of an organisation, are not just ideational commentary."
"Such attempts to publicly erode constitutional values must be treated with utmost seriousness and urgency. A clear message must be sent that no one is above the Constitution, and any public advocacy of unconstitutional means or dismantling of constitutional principles will face due process of law," it added.
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Earlier today, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Sandosh Kumar wrote a letter to RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, urging him to recognise the critical role of secularism and socialism as foundational values of the Indian Constitution after Hosabale's call.
In his letter, Kumar criticised recent statements made by a senior RSS functionary, questioning these principles and arguing that they are essential to India's pluralistic and just society.
He also urged the RSS to formally accept the Constitution and cease actions that undermine its spirit.
"These principles are not arbitrary insertions but foundational ideals that emerged from the lived experiences of India's oppressed and the visionary imagination of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and many others who sought to create a just, pluralistic Republic. In a diverse country like ours, secularism ensures unity in diversity, while socialism promises justice and dignity to each of our citizens. To ridicule or reject these values is to negate the promise made to the people of India at the moment of our nation's liberation from colonial rule," Kumar wrote.
On June 26, RSS general secretary Hosabale suggested reconsidering the inclusion of the terms "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
Hosabale was addressing an event on the 50th anniversary of the emergency, held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre, jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (under the Ministry of Culture) and the Ambedkar International Centre.
Speaking at the event, he emphasised that 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 remarked that during the emergency, terms like "socialist" and "secular" were forcibly inserted into the Constitution -- a move that needs to be reconsidered.