Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, has claimed that the words “socialist” and “secular” have been omitted from the copies of the Constitution’s Preamble that were given to MPs. He raised the issue in the Lok Sabha on September 20, 2023.
“The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us…the one we held in our hands and entered [the new Parliament building], its Preamble does not have the words ‘socialist, secular’,” he told news agency ANI.
In 2015, a government advertisement for Republic Day published in newspapers omitted the words “socialist, secular” in the image of the Constitution’s Preamble and triggered an uproar.
The words “socialist” and “secular” were added in 1976 by the 42nd constitutional amendment to the Preamble, which reads: “We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic…”
In January 2015, then Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there was “no harm” in debating whether the Preamble should have the words secular and ‘socialist.
Two lawyers and a social worker planning to launch a political party filed a petition in 2020 in the Supreme Court seeking the deletion of the words “secular” and “socialist” from the Preamble.
Compulsorily following principles of socialism and secularism is among the conditions for registering a political party with the Election Commission of India. This was added to Section 29-A (5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 by an amendment in 1989.
However, the government has denied the allegations. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the copies that were given to MPs were of the original Constitution, which was adopted in 1950. The words “socialist” and “secular” were added to the Preamble in 1976 through the 42nd amendment to the Constitution.
Meghwal said that the government has not made any changes to the Preamble. He also said that the copies of the Constitution that are available to the public contain the words “socialist” and “secular”.
It is possible that Chowdhury received a copy of the original Constitution, which does not contain the words “socialist” and “secular”. However, it is also possible that there was a mistake in the printing of the copies.
It is important to note that the words “socialist” and “secular” are still part of the Constitution of India. The 42nd amendment to the Constitution, which added these words to the Preamble, has not been repealed.
The Preamble of the Constitution is a statement of the ideals and goals of the Indian nation. It is a reminder of the values that India stands for. The words “socialist” and “secular” are important parts of the Preamble, and they should not be forgotten.