No current plan to remove 'socialist' and 'secular' from Preamble of Constitution: Centre

The Centre said there is no plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution. (Representational Image: AP)

The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre on Thursday reiterated that it has no plans to remove the words "socialist" and "Secular" from the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

The Indian government has not formally initiated any legal or constitutional process to remove the words "socialist" and "secular" from the Preamble of the Constitution, Centre informed Parliament, adding that no formal decision or proposal has been announced by the government regarding amendments to these terms even as there have been discussions or debates in certain public or political circles on the issue.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal reiterated the government's stand in response to a question by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman on the "office-bearers of some social organisations" attempting to create an atmosphere for the removal of the two words from the Preamble.

Responding to the MP's query, Meghwal said that opinions aimed at creating public discourse around the issue do not reflect the official stand or actions of the government.

"The government's official stand is that there is no current plan or intention to reconsider or remove the words 'socialism' and 'secularism' from the Preamble of the Constitution. Any discussions regarding amendments to the Preamble would require thorough deliberation and broad consensus, but as of now, the government has not initiated any formal process to change these provisions," Meghwal said in his written reply.

The minister further cited the Supreme Court's November 2024 judgment which rejected the challenge to the 42nd amendment introducing these words in the Preamble.

The Centre's clarification on the issue came on the back of several petitions being filed seeking the removal of the two words from the Preamble which were added through the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976.

The petitions claimed that the 42nd amendment was passed during the Emergency and the peopke were not heard.

However, the Supreme Court, which had upheld the concept of secularism as part of the basic structure in 1994, said observed that the writ petitions, filed in 2020, forty-four years after the words became integral to the Preamble, made the prayers "particularly questionable".

"This stems from the fact that these terms have achieved widespread acceptance, with their meanings understood by “We, the people of India” without any semblance of doubt...In essence, the concept of secularism represents one of the facets of the right to equality, intricately woven into the basic fabric that depicts the constitutional scheme's pattern...In the Indian framework, socialism embodies the principle of economic and social justice, wherein the State ensures that no citizen is disadvantaged due to economic or social circumstances. The word 'socialism' reflects the goal of economic and social upliftment and does not restrict private entrepreneurship and the right to business and trade, a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g)," the court said.

The 44th Amendment to the Indian Constitution, enacted in 1978, while focussing on restoring the democratic and constitutional framework that had been altered during the Emergency, did not touch the words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble.