"RSS has never accepted Constitution," says Congress' Jairam Ramesh after RSS leader calls for changing Preamble
The Congress leader was replying to the comments made by RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday, as the latter claimed that terms like 'Socialist' and 'Secular' were forcibly inserted into the Constitution -- a move that needs to be reconsidered today, while speaking at a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.
'The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr. Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949, onwards. In the RSS's own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti. The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr Modi's campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem,' read a post by the Congress leader on X.
https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1938454862540284312
He also highlighted a 2024 Supreme Court judgement regarding challenging the 1976 Constitutional Amendment, which inserted the words. The SC, however, said that the arguments in the case had 'obvious' flaws and weaknesses.
'The Chief Justice of India himself delivered a judgment on November 25, 2024, on the issue now being raised by a leading RSS functionary. Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?' the Congress leader said.
According to the SC judgement posted by the party general secretary (Communications), 'The writ petitions do not require a detailed adjudication as the flaws and weaknesses in the arguments are obvious and manifest. Two expressions- 'secular' and 'socialist', and the word 'integrity' were inserted in the Preamble vide the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976...The power to amend unquestionably rests with the Parliament. This power to amend extends to the Preamble...'
The judgment also mentioned multiple other orders of the top Court, including the Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala, SR Bommai vs Union of India, where it was observed that secularism is the basic feature of the Constitution.
Addressing the argument that the secular and socialist words were inserted during the Emergency, the court had said that the words were under scrutiny while the Parliament was considering the Constitution Forty-Fifth Amendment Bill, 1978, a period after the Emergency was lifted.
Earlier yesterday, RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had 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 said that those who imposed the Emergency and trampled the Constitution and democracy have never apologised. (ANI)
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