Oppn slams RSS’ call to review ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ in Preamble

Several opposition parties on Friday denounced RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s call to review the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble, terming it a “deliberate assault” on the soul of the Constitution.
The attack came a day after the RSS proposed reviewing the two words, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar.
While the Congress saw it as a “deliberate assault” on the soul of the Constitution and claimed the RSS-BJP had never accepted Ambedkar’s Constitution, the CPI(M) said the demand exposes the RSS’ long-standing objective of subverting it.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the mask of the RSS has come off again as they want ‘Manusmriti’. “The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism, and justice,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.
“The RSS-BJP doesn’t want the Constitution; they want ‘Manusmriti’…,” he alleged. “The RSS should stop dreaming… we will never let them succeed. Every patriotic Indian will defend the Constitution until their last breath,” Gandhi asserted.
CPI(M) leader and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Hosabale’s call is a “brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of our Republic”. “Secularism and socialism are not additions; they define India. Every citizen who believes in democracy must raise their voice against this communal agenda,” Vijayan said on X.
Left parties and RJD alleged that Hosabale’s proposal was part of a conspiracy to change the Constitution. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said BJP/RSS attacked Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in the framing of the Constitution from November 30, 1949, onwards. “In the RSS’ own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti,” he said in a post on X.
“The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr (Narendra) Modi’s campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry…,” Ramesh said.
RJD president Lalu Prasad, who claimed that social justice and communal harmony are his guiding principles, voiced his anguish on X by terming the RSS a “casteist” outfit.
RJD supremo also said, “They do not have the guts to cast an evil eye on the Constitution and reservations provided therein. Why are people with an unjust character so full of hatred for democracy and Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution?” In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said the inclusion of ‘socialism’ and ‘secularism’ in the Preamble is not an arbitrary addition and reflects the core values for which freedom fighters sacrificed their lives.
CPI General Secretary D Raja said everyone knows what RSS wants. “Everyone knows it is opposed to constitution/why they spoke of ‘400-paar’ and that is why defending constitution became the central issue for opposition parties.”
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, however, defended Hosabale’s call and said any right-thinking citizen would endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Ambedkar.