'Original copy of Constitution given to MPs': BJP on Cong’s claim of ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ missing in Preamble

“Not amended, but original copy” of the Constitution of India was handed over to parliamentarians on the first day of session in the new Parliament building on 19 September.

The Congress has been creating ruckus, alleging that the lawmakers were handed a copy of the Constitution of India in which the Preamble had ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ words missing.

“It was not said that this is the amended copy. This was the original copy when the Constitution was accepted. It did not have the words ‘socialist secular’ in it…Does the socialist word have any relevance now?… This is an unnecessary controversy,” BJP MP Sushil Modi said.

#WATCH | Delhi: BJP MP Sushil Modi says, "...It was not said that this is the amended copy. This was the original copy when the Constitution was accepted. It did not have the words 'socialist secular' in it...Does the socialist word have any relevance now?... This is an… pic.twitter.com/34tQV4KE0T

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023

Congress claims ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ missing 

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said the Preamble of the new copies of the Constitution that were given to the MPs on 19 September did not have the words ‘socialist’, ‘secular’.

“We know that the words were added after an amendment in 1976 but if someone gives us the Constitution today and it doesn’t have those words, it is a matter of concern,” he said.

“Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly. It is a matter of concern for me. I tried to raise this issue, but I did not get an opportunity to raise this issue,” the Congress leader alleged.

#WATCH | Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, "The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us today (19th September), the one we held in our hands and entered (the new Parliament building), its Preamble doesn't have the words 'socialist… pic.twitter.com/NhvBLp7Ufi

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi also claimed that ‘in the preamble it (the words ‘socialist’, ‘secular’) were not there.:

#WATCH | On the copies of the Constitution given to Parliamentarians, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi says, "In the preamble it (the words 'socialist secular') were not there." pic.twitter.com/9NLVwZOA8Y

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023

The preamble is an introductory statement of the Constitution that explains its objectives and philosophy.

As per reports, on the opening day of the new parliament building, the MPs were handed over a gift bag that contained a copy of the Constitution of India, books related to the Parliament, a commemorative coin and a stamp.

Words ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ in Preamble of the Constitution of India

The words ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ were originally not a part of the Preamble. They were added by The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 during the Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The 42nd Amendment is also called “mini Constitution” because of the number and expanse of the changes introduced.

Before the amendment in 1976, the Preamble of the Constitution of India read:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”

However, after the amendment by ex-PM Indira Gandhi, it changed “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC…”