RSS leader pitches for removal of words 'socialist', 'secular' from Preamble
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday pitched for the removal of the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble of the Constitution, while lashing out at the Congress for imposing the Emergency 50 years ago.The Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi-led Congress government. The 21-month period - lasting until March 21, 1977 - saw civil liberties being suspended, and a brutal crackdown on Opposition leaders and the freedom of the press.advertisementAddressing an event in Delhi, Hosabele made a strong pitch to consider whether the words socialist and secular, which were added to the Preamble by the Congress government during the Emergency, should remain.
Demanding an apology from Congress for imposing the Emergency, he said, "Those who did such things are today moving around with the Constitution's copy. They have still not apologised. Your ancestors did it. You must apologise for this to the country," he said in his remarks aimed at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.Recalling the days of the Emergency, the RSS leader said while thousands of people were put in jail and tortured during that period, freedom of the judiciary and media was also curtailed."The days of Emergency also witnessed large-scale forced sterlisation," Hosabele added.Hosabele's remarks came after the BJP-led central government on Wednesday observed June 25 as the 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas', marking the 50th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency.advertisementThe government marked the occasion to commemorate the "massive contributions" of those who endured "inhuman pain" for nearly two years, from 1975 to 1977.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the imposition of the Emergency as one of the darkest chapters in India's democratic history, saying the Congress not only violated the spirit of the Constitution but placed "democracy under arrest".In a series of posts on X on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, PM Modi said no Indian would ever forget how the voice of Parliament was muzzled and attempts were made to control the courts during the period.- Ends
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