The Crossbill News Desk
A political row has erupted following remarks by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, who on Thursday called for a debate on whether the words “socialist” and “secular” should remain in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
A day later, the Congress sharply criticised the suggestion, accusing the RSS and BJP of continuing their “agenda to undermine the Constitution” despite the people’s clear mandate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress MP and communications head Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that the RSS has never accepted the Constitution of India and has historically criticised its framers, including Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr. Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949 onwards. In the RSS’s own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh also linked Hosabale’s remarks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial 2024 election campaign.
“The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr. Modi’s campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem,” he further said.
He also cited the Supreme Court’s November 25, 2024, judgment, which upheld the constitutional validity of the 42nd Amendment that added “socialist” and “secular” to the Preamble in 1976 during the Emergency.
The court ruled that the Parliament had the authority under Article 368 to amend the Preamble, and that these terms had become integral to India’s constitutional identity.
“The Chief Justice of India himself delivered a judgment on November 25, 2024 on the issue now being raised by a leading RSS functionary. Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?” asked Ramesh pointedly.
Echoing similar concerns, Congress MP and Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore accused the RSS of harbouring a long-standing ambition to dismantle the Constitution.
“The RSS always wanted the Constitution to be attacked, and to be removed… We all know RSS stands for Manuvad and they want to spread hate,” Tagore said, vowing that the Congress will continue to defend the Constitution.
Hosabale, in his comments, had also called on the Congress to apologise for imposing the Emergency in 1975, and questioned whether the inclusion of “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble should be revisited in contemporary India.
The debate has reignited political tensions around the ideological divide between the secular and pluralist vision of the Constitution and the RSS’s long-standing critique of it, as the ruling BJP’s ideological parent continues to push for what it calls a “cultural and constitutional re-evaluation.”
A day later, the Congress sharply criticised the suggestion, accusing the RSS and BJP of continuing their “agenda to undermine the Constitution” despite the people’s clear mandate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress MP and communications head Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that the RSS has never accepted the Constitution of India and has historically criticised its framers, including Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr. Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949 onwards. In the RSS’s own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh also linked Hosabale’s remarks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial 2024 election campaign.
“The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr. Modi’s campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem,” he further said.
He also cited the Supreme Court’s November 25, 2024, judgment, which upheld the constitutional validity of the 42nd Amendment that added “socialist” and “secular” to the Preamble in 1976 during the Emergency.
The court ruled that the Parliament had the authority under Article 368 to amend the Preamble, and that these terms had become integral to India’s constitutional identity.
“The Chief Justice of India himself delivered a judgment on November 25, 2024 on the issue now being raised by a leading RSS functionary. Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?” asked Ramesh pointedly.
The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr. Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949 onwards. In the RSS's own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 27, 2025
The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a… pic.twitter.com/WP07XV7MuA
Echoing similar concerns, Congress MP and Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore accused the RSS of harbouring a long-standing ambition to dismantle the Constitution.
“The RSS always wanted the Constitution to be attacked, and to be removed… We all know RSS stands for Manuvad and they want to spread hate,” Tagore said, vowing that the Congress will continue to defend the Constitution.
Hosabale, in his comments, had also called on the Congress to apologise for imposing the Emergency in 1975, and questioned whether the inclusion of “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble should be revisited in contemporary India.
The debate has reignited political tensions around the ideological divide between the secular and pluralist vision of the Constitution and the RSS’s long-standing critique of it, as the ruling BJP’s ideological parent continues to push for what it calls a “cultural and constitutional re-evaluation.”
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