The general secretary (Sarkaryavah) of RSS Dattatreya Hosabale has suggested removal of the words “Socialist” and “Secular” from the Preamble of the Constitution. His logic is that the maker of the Indian Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar was against inclusion of these two words in the Preamble, but in 1976 the then Indira Gandhi government amended the Constitution to include these two words.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has supported this view. He said, these two words do not gell with India’s cultural legacy because India had always believed in Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava and there is no need for the word ‘secular’.
The first reaction came from Bihar, where RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav alleged that BJP and RSS are pursuing their agenda to do away with the Constitution. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote on X: “The RSS veil is off….RSS-BJP want Manu Smriti, not the Constitution, they want to enslave Dalits and poorer sections by snatching away their rights.”
Law Minister Arjun Meghwal said, the RSS leader was only quoting Dr Ambedkar. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, it is the hidden agenda of BJP to do away with reservation and Constitution.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said, those who flaunt the Constitution do no understand its naunces. “For them, their family is supreme and people should beware of such leaders”, he added.
Jaishankar was indirectly referring to Rahul Gandhi who is always on the lookout for such opportunities. He immediately links any suggestion relating to the Constitution to the rights of Dalits and backward communities.
What Dattatreya Hosabale said is not incorrect, but since Bihar assembly elections are round the corner and Congress and RJD have got the chance to corner BJP.
Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Tejashwi Yadav know that there was a debate in the Constituent Assembly on whether to include these two words in the Preamble. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr Ambedkar were supporters of secularism, but they were against including the word ‘secular’ by copying the constitutions of western countries. It was finally decided not to add the word ‘secular’ in the Consitution.
For adding the word ‘socialist’ in the Preamble, Prof K T Shah on November 15, 1948 moved an amendment, but the chairman of the drafting committee Dr Ambedkar rejected it.
Ambedkar said, the Constitution must not be seen as a document that imposes any social or economic ideology on future generations. But during the Emergency, Indira Gandhi brought the 42nd Constitutional Amendment and the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were added in the Preamble.
So, what Hosabale said is factually correct. But the opposition parties have sniffed a chance. In 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the opposition had gone to town alleging that BJP wanted to change the Consitution. They made it a big issue and got electoral dividends. Similarly, in the Bihar elections, the opposition is aiming to corner BJP by citing Hosabale’s suggestion.
Electoral revision in Bihar : Do not make EC a punching bag
The Election Commission has kicked up a big political storm by ordering Special Intensive Revision of electoral list. As part of this revision, all voters must submit an enumeration form, and those registered after 2003 will have to additionally provide documentation establishing their citizenship, as per guidelines and scheduled specified by the EC.
Booth Level Officers will go from home to home to physically verify documents relating to place and date of birth of voters. RJD, Congress and Left parties have opposed this move.
RJD leader Tejaswhi Yadav said, 70 per cent of Bihar is presently facing floods and submission of documents that are being sought by EC cannot be done. He alleged that the EC “is trying to benefit BJP andf Janatal Dal(U)”.
The aim of this revision exercise is verification of voters with EPIC (electors photo identity card). Any voter in Bihar can upload latest photo, EPIC number and other documents, and those who cannot upload can be helped by the BLO who will visit the house. The document sought is any one of the following: ration card, PAN card, driving licence, passport, bank passbook, caste certificate, birth certificate.
Opposition leaders are saying how EC can verify details of 8 crore voters within 25 days. This, they say, is part of a conspiracy to weed out names of poor and illiterate voters.
Those who are objecting to voters’ list verification, are the same leaders who had alleged that voters lists were not verified properly during the Maharashtra assembly elections.
On one hand, they demand an accurate voter list, and on the other hand, they are alleging conspiracy in the name of verification. If any discrepancies are found in voter list, the same leaders will level charges on the EC.
It is not proper for political parties to level baseless charges on the eve of elections. A few months ago, Mamata Banerjee had alleged that in West Bengal, two or three voter cards were made from a single EPIC number. She had sent her party’s delegation to the EC to lodge a complaint. The EC, at that time, had admitted that there were some inaccuracies which will be corrected.
I do not find anything wrong in the EC verifying the EPIC number with voter i-cards. Since Election Commission cannot reply to all allegations daily, the opposition finds the EC a soft target by questioning its credibility. It is not good for democracy if political parties try to weaken a Constitutional body like the EC by making it a punching bag.
Why did Thackeray brothers come together?
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin MNS chief Raj Thackeray will be holding a joint rally in Mumbai on July 5 to what they say, “imposition of Hindi” in the schools of Maharashtra. The state government had issued an order making Hindi the third language in primary section from Class one to five in schools.
NCP(Sharad) chief Sharad Pawar said, the people of Maharashtra are not “anti-Hindi” but the decision to make Hindi the third language in primary classes is not good. BJP leader Ashish Shelar clarified that Hindi has not been made compulsory and it is optional.
Marathi language has always been an emotional issue in Maharashtra. People in Mumbai are particularly touchy about language. With BMC elections looming, both the Thackeray cousins are fanning an emotional issue. The state government order has given them a handle to beat with.
As far as Congress and NCP(Sharad) are concderned, Uddhav Thackeray has repeatedly said that Shiv Sena would contest BMC elections alone. I have already said a day ago that despite Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarifying that Hindi will be an optional language, Uddhav Thackeray has got the chance to make Marathi pride an election issue. This can harm the prospects of BJP in BMC elections.