New Delhi: A war of words erupted Wednesday between the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress which pointed out that the copy of the Constitution distributed by the Modi government did not have the words “secular” and “socialist”.
The Member of Parliaments were on Tuesday September 19, 2023, the opening day of the new Parliament building, given a kit that besides other things also contained a copy of the Indian Constitution.
The matter was highlighted by the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, outside the Parliament’s New Building today morning.
"In the preamble it (the words 'socialist secular') were not there”, Sonia Gandhi said as she arrived in the Parliament to participate in the debate on Women’s Reservation Bill.
On Tuesday, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had alleged that the copies of the Constitution given to the MPs did not have the words "secular" and "socialist" in its Preamble.
"The Constitution with which we walked in the new Parliament building, did not have the words secular and socialist in its preamble. If these two words are not present in the Constitution, then it is a worrying matter," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said to news agency ANI on Tuesday.
He said he wanted to raise the matter in the Parliament on Tuesday itself but he was not allowed.
The government however rejected the charges and said the Constitution the copies featured the "original version" of the Preamble.
"When the Constitution came into being, it did not have the words 'socialist, secular'. These words were included in the 42nd amendment of the Constitution in 1976," Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal said.
The Congress party rejected the government’s clarification, questioning its intention and alleging that it made this change very "cleverly" and that its intentions were "suspicious".
"We know that the words were added after an amendment in 1976. But if someone gives us a copy of the Constitution today and it doesn't have these words, it is a matter of concern. Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly”, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. “This is a serious matter and we will raise this issue," he added.
"We know that the words were added after an amendment in 1976. But if someone gives us a copy of the Constitution today and it doesn't have these words, it is a matter of concern. Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly”, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
“This is a serious matter and we will raise this issue," he added.
The CPI-M and other opposition parties too have raised the issue, calling the omission a "crime" and an “attack” on the Constitution.
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