...sacrilege to spirit of sanatan, says V-P

VICE President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday described the insertion of the words "socialist" and "secular" into the Constitution's Preamble during the Emergency as a nasoor (a festering wound) and a "sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatana."

- RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi

His remarks came after the RSS general Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday called for a review of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Constitution's Preamble, saying they were inserted during the Emergency and were not part of constitution drafted by B.R. Ambedkar--comments that drew sharp criticism from the Congress.

"The Preamble of any constitution is its soul. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is unique. Except Bharat, no other Constitution's Preamble has undergone change. The Preamble is not changeable. The Preamble is not alterable. The Preamble is the basis on which the constitution has grown," he said.

"The Preamble is the seed of the Constitution. It is the Soul of the constitution, but this Preamble for Bharat was changed by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976, adding the words Socialist and Secular."

"The Preamble is not changeable or alterable. It is the basis on which the Constitution has grown. The Preamble is the seed of the Constitution. It is the soul of the Constitution," Dhankhar said.

He was addressing an event at the Vice-President's Enclave to mark the release of the book Ambedkar's Messages compiled by D S Veeraiah.