‘Secular’, ‘socialist’ dropped from Preamble in new copies of Constitution handed to MPs: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Congress Leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has alleged that the words 'socialist' and 'secular' have been omitted from the Preamble of the Constitution of India in the new copies of the Constitution which were distributed to the MPs on Tuesday (19 September).In an interview with news agency ANI, Chowdhury claimedm “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 secular’.” Chowdhury said that the words were added to the Preamble after an amendment in 1976.

“if someone gives us the Constitution today and it doesn’t have those words, it is a matter of concern," he said. Chowdhury also raised suspicion about the "intention" behind the omission of these words. "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…” he added. The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1976 when an emergency was imposed in the country by the then PM Indira Gandhi, brought about significant changes to the description of India in the Preamble. A bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on September 18, the first day of the special session of Parliament, had clearly stated that members would be given a copy of the Constitution and a calligraphed copy of the original Constitution of India.