Hosabale, speaking at an event organised to mark 50 years since the Emergency on Thursday, asserted that since the words Secular and Socialist were not part of the original Preamble and were only added by Indira Gandhi’s government during the Emergency, their inclusion should be debated.
Published Jun 27, 2025 | 5:10 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 27, 2025 | 5:10 PM
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (Supplied)
Synopsis: Kerala CM Pinayari Vijayan termed the RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s call to remove the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the constitution as a brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of the Indian republic. Vijayan’s sharp reaction comes on the heels of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond to comments made by his party’s ‘high command’.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has slammed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s call for a debate on the inclusion of the words “Secular” and “Socialist” in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution, terming it a brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of the republic.
“Invoking the Emergency to discredit these principles is a deceitful move, especially when the RSS colluded with the Indira Gandhi government during that time for its own survival,” Vijayan wrote in a post on X on Friday, 27 June.
“To use that period now to undermine the Constitution reflects sheer hypocrisy and political opportunism. Secularism and socialism are not additions; they define India. Every citizen who believes in democracy must raise their voice against this communal agenda.”
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s call to review secularism and socialism in the Indian Constitution is a brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of our Republic.
Invoking the emergency to discredit these principles is a deceitful move, especially when the RSS…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) June 27, 2025
Hosabale, speaking at an event organised to mark 50 years since the Emergency on Thursday, asserted that since the words Secular and Socialist were not part of the original Preamble and were only added by Indira Gandhi’s government during the Emergency, their inclusion should be debated.
“During Emergency, the two words, “Secular” and “Socialist” were added to the Constitution, which were not part of the original Preamble,” he said.
“Later, these words were not removed. Should they remain or not, debate must happen on this. These two words were not in Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution. During Emergency, the country had no functioning Parliament, no rights, no judiciary, and yet these two words were added.”
Vijayan’s sharp reaction comes on the heels of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond to comments made by his party’s ‘high command’, referring to the RSS as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological parent.
“Since this opinion has been expressed by the ‘high command’ of the ruling BJP, I, on behalf of the 140 crore people of the country, urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his views on this matter before the nation,” he wrote in a post on X, on Friday.
Siddaramaiah further emphasised that although the original Preamble did not include the words, “everyone understood India to be a socialist and secular country,” and that their inclusion through the 42nd Amendment during the Emergency became necessary “when the RSS and Jana Sangh began attacking the core principles of democracy – secularism and socialism.”
ಸಂವಿಧಾನದ ಪೀಠಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ‘’ಸಮಾಜವಾದಿ’’ ಮತ್ತು “ಜಾತ್ಯತೀತ” ಪದಗಳನ್ನು ಕಿತ್ತುಹಾಕಬೇಕೆಂದು ಆರ್ ಎಸ್ ಎಸ್ ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಶಿ ದತ್ತಾತ್ರೇಯ ಹೊಸಬಾಳೆ ಹೇಳಿರುವುದು ಗಂಭೀರವಾಗಿ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಬೇಕಾಗಿರುವ ಸಂಗತಿ. ಆಡಳಿತಾರೂಢ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ‘’ಹೈಕಮಾಂಡ್” ನಿಂದಲೇ ಈ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತವಾಗಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ @narendramodi ಅವರು ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ…
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 27, 2025
He also accused the RSS of lacking any moral standing to call for such a debate, citing the organisation’s historical opposition to the ideals of the Constitution:
“The RSS opposing the Constitution is not a new development. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its parent organisation, the RSS, have been opposing the Constitution since the day it was framed, and history stands as a witness to this,” he wrote.
“Just four days after Baba Saheb Ambedkar presented the Constitution to the nation, the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser magazine, wrote an editorial opposing it.”
Citing the Organiser, he noted: “There is no trace of Indianness or the ancient Indian systems in Ambedkar’s Constitution, and this is the worst aspect of this Constitution.”
He also referred to RSS ideologues: “MS Golwalkar had said, ‘The Constitution of India is a patchwork of provisions picked from the constitutions of other countries; there is no Indianness in it.’”
“VD Savarkar had stated, ‘The Manusmriti is the true Hindu law, the revered text of Hindus. The principles of Manusmriti are not reflected in the Constitution.’”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
