Kozhikode (Kerala) [India], June 28 (ANI): CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby on Saturday strongly criticised recent remarks by RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, who called for the removal of the words “secularism” and “socialism” from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
Speaking to ANI, Baby stated that the CPI(M) Polit Bureau had already issued a statement condemning the RSS’s position. “Socialism and secularism are not mere additions — they are core values embedded throughout the Constitution,” he asserted.
While acknowledging that these terms were explicitly added during the 42nd Constitutional Amendment during the Emergency period, Baby emphasized that the essence of both ideals had been present from the Constitution’s inception.
“If you read the Constitution carefully, especially the Directive Principles of State Policy, it is clear that the goal was always to build a secular and egalitarian society,” he explained.
He also highlighted that the Supreme Court, as the constitutional authority, has repeatedly affirmed that secularism and socialism are part of the basic structure of the Constitution, and therefore cannot be amended or removed.
Criticising the ideological roots of the RSS, Baby remarked:
“The RSS never accepted the Indian Constitution. When the Constituent Assembly adopted it, their mouthpiece, ‘Organiser’, dismissed it as being filled with foreign influences and even suggested that it should be based on the Manusmriti instead.”
Calling the current proposal “dangerous,” Baby warned:
“Now the cat is out of the bag. The RSS wants to dismantle the Constitution that upholds equality, fraternity, and secularism, and replace it with Manuvaad. But Indian society will not accept such a regression.”
He concluded by saying that the Left will actively mobilise public opinion to defend the Constitution and resist what he described as the RSS’s regressive vision for India.
Earlier, RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had suggested reconsidering the inclusion of the words “socialist” and “secular” in the Constitution’s Preamble.
Speaking at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency — jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (under the Ministry of Culture) and the Ambedkar International Centre — Hosabale said the Emergency was not just a misuse of power, but an attempt to crush civil liberties.
“Millions were imprisoned, and the freedom of the press was suppressed,” he stated. Hosabale argued that the insertion of the words “socialist” and “secular” during this period was done forcibly and should be reconsidered in light of democratic principles.
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