The Union government has clarified that it has “no current plan or intention” to reconsider or remove the words ‘socialism’ and ‘secularism’ from the Preamble of the ConstitutionResponding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that while discussions or debates may be taking place in certain public or political circles, the government has neither announced any formal proposal nor initiated any legal or constitutional process to alter the Preamble.“The government’s official stand is that there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words ‘socialism’ and ‘secularism’ from the Preamble of the Constitution,” Meghwal said in a written reply.Meghwal said that any amendment to the Preamble would require extensive deliberation and broad consensus, which, at present, is not under consideration.The Law Minister also noted that in November 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions challenging the 1976 amendment that added the two words.The court upheld Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution, including the Preamble, and clarified that in the Indian context, “socialism” refers to a welfare state and does not hinder private enterprise, while “secularism” is an essential part of the Constitution’s basic structure.Meghwal said while certain groups may be advocating a review of the added terms, such opinions do not reflect the government’s official position.“Such activities may generate public discourse, but they do not indicate any official action or policy direction,” he said.Last month, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar stirred controversy when he described the inclusion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble as a “festering wound.”His remarks lent weight to RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s call for a national debate on whether these terms should continue to define India’s foundational values.Dhankhar had asserted that the Preamble is “sacrosanct and not changeable,” calling the insertion of the words during the Emergency “a sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatan.”(With inputs from PTI )
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