Preamble Not Changeable, Yet Changed During Emergency

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday asserted the preamble of a constitution is "not changeable" but was changed in India during the Emergency, which signals a betrayal of the "wisdom" of the framers of the Constitution.

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NEW DELHI:

He also said the words inserted in the Preamble in 1976 during the period of Emergency were a "nasoor" (festering wound) and could cause upheaval.

"It is nothing but belittling the civilizational wealth and knowledge of this country for thousands of years. It is a sacrilege of the spirit of Sanatan," the vice president said at a book launch event here.

Dhankhar described the preamble as a "seed" on which a constitution grows. He also underlined that the preamble of no other constitution has undergone change except that of India.

"The Preamble of a constitution is not changeable. But this Preamble was changed by the 42nd Constitution (Amendment) Act of 1976," he said, noting that the words "socialist," "secular," and "integrity" were added.