A hearing was held in the Supreme Court on Monday on a petition seeking the removal of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the preamble of the Constitution. Meanwhile, Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain – Don't you want India to be secular?
A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar is hearing the pleas of former Rajya Sabha MP Subramaniam Swamy, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and Ashwini Upadhyay. Jain argued-
The words 'socialist' and 'secular' were added to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. These changes were never debated in Parliament. For this reason they should be removed from the Preamble of the Constitution.
The bench said, “This Court has held in several judgments that secularism is always a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. If the words equality and fraternity are used in the Constitution, it is a clear indication that secularism must be included in the Constitution.
The words 'socialist' and 'secular' were included in the Preamble of the Constitution under the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976 during the Indira Gandhi government.
On Swamy's argument, the bench said – it will investigate the matter Subramaniam Swamy said that since the preamble was a declaration made on November 26, 1949, it was arbitrary to add more words to it through later amendments. It is incorrect to represent that as per the present preamble, the Indian people agreed on November 26, 1949 to make India a socialist and secular republic. The bench said that it would look into the matter. The next hearing in this regard will be held on November 18.
Justice Khanna said- Socialism has many meanings, it is not appropriate to take the meaning of western countries During the hearing, Jain said that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said that the inclusion of the word 'socialist' would curtail individual freedom. He said that the preamble could not be changed by amendment.
Justice Khanna said that socialism has different meanings. The meaning adopted in western countries should not be taken. “Socialism can also mean that there should be equality of opportunity and the wealth of the country should be distributed equally among the people,” the bench said.
Arguments in Petition- Preamble cannot be altered or revoked On September 2, 2022, the court listed Swamy's petition for hearing along with other pending cases. Swamy argued in the petition that the preamble cannot be changed or revoked. The Preamble not only outlines the essential features of the Constitution but also lays down the basic conditions on the basis of which it was adopted to create a unified community.
Even during the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition accused the BJP of planning to change the constitution. Meanwhile, regarding the BJP's slogan of crossing 400, many BJP leaders made statements that 400 seats are needed to change the constitution.
In the first session of the Lok Sabha, there was also a demonstration regarding the constitution
Before taking the oath, the opposition MPs staged a demonstration with a copy of the constitution in hand near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament complex.
During the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition accused the BJP of planning to change the constitution. At that time, regarding the slogan of BJP to cross 400, many leaders of BJP made statements that 400 seats are required to change the constitution. These statements were cited as the reason behind BJP's defeat in many seats.
Opposition MPs took the oath with the constitution book in hand. Also, on the first day of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha i.e. June 24 (the same day MPs were sworn in) the opposition staged a demonstration with a copy of the constitution. Opposition MPs protested against the appointment of Bhartrihari Mahtab as Protem Speaker.
The opposition said that the government appointed a pro tem speaker against the rules. According to the rules, Congress K. Suresh was to be made the pro-tem speaker, as he is an 8-time MP. Mahtab is MP only 7 times.
Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi participated in this demonstration. After the protest, Rahul Gandhi said that the attack on the Constitution by Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah is not acceptable to us. No power can touch the Constitution of India.
A copy of the Constitution was shown to the Prime Minister while taking oath as an MP
Many opposition MPs including Rahul Gandhi showed a copy of the constitution to the PM.
The demonstration was also seen inside Parliament. When the swearing-in ceremony of MPs began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to come to the podium. At that time, many opposition MPs including Rahul Gandhi showed the copy of the constitution to the PM. When the Prime Minister returned after taking oath, he was welcomed by both sides with folded hands.
After the Prime Minister, 5 senior MPs included in the panel of Protem Speaker were to take oath. This includes 3 opposition MPs Suresh Kodikunneel (Congress), TR Balu (DMK), Sudeep Bandopadhyay (TMC). No MP was present in the hall when the pro tem speaker called his name. They were protesting outside.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
