Oppn slams Hosabale's call on Preamble

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, while addressing an event on Emergency said, “The Preamble to the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words. During Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, the judiciary became lame, then these words were added”

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The Congress and other Opposition parties Friday slammed RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s call for a national debate on whether the terms 'secular' and 'socialist' should remain in the Preamble, terming it “political opportunism” and a “deliberate assault” on the soul of the Constitution.

As Hosabale’s strong pitch for a review of the two words inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency days(1975-77) kicked up a political row, an article published in an RSS-linked magazine Organiser said it is not about dismantling the Constitution but about restoring its “original spirit”, free from the “distortions” of the Congress’ Emergency-era policies.

Union minister Jitendra Singh and senior BJP leader sought to defend the call by the second senior most functionary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying any right-thinking citizen will endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Dr B R Ambedkar.