BJP Rajya Sabha MP Bhim Singh has said that the words “secular” and “socialist” are not needed in the Preamble of the Constitution and were added in an undemocratic way during the Emergency. Singh has introduced a private member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha to remove these words, arguing that they were not part of the original Constitution and only create confusion.
He told PTI that the Constitution adopted in 1949 did not contain these two terms and that they were inserted in 1976 through the 42nd Amendment when Indira Gandhi was in power. According to him, there was no proper debate in Parliament because many Opposition leaders, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and George Fernandes, were in jail at the time. “Democracy was being murdered, and in that situation these two words were added,” he said. Singh argued that the Constitution should remain the way the framers had originally written it.
He said the Constituent Assembly had already discussed these issues and that Dr B.R. Ambedkar had explained that the structure of the Constitution itself ensures secularism, so the word was not needed. On the term “socialist”, Singh said that Ambedkar had warned that no generation should bind future generations to a fixed economic or political policy. According to him, the Constitution already includes mechanisms for welfare, reducing poverty and ensuring fair distribution of wealth.
Singh claimed that both terms were added for political reasons. He said “socialist” was included to please the USSR and “secular” was meant to appease Muslims. He said they were unnecessary and only create confusion. When asked about the chances of his Bill becoming law, he admitted that very few private member’s Bills have ever been passed, but said raising the issue was important to bring it to the attention of the government and the public.
He rejected criticism that the Bill attacks the Constitution, saying his intention is to restore it to its original form. “Was India not secular before 1976? Were Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri or Indira Gandhi running a communal government? Why were these words needed then?” he asked.
The Bill proposes removing the two terms from the Preamble and does not seek any change in fundamental rights or other constitutional provisions. Private member’s Bills are introduced by MPs who are not ministers, and only fourteen have ever been passed into law, with none approved by both Houses since 1970.
