RSS mask comes off; it wants 'Manusmriti', not Constitution: Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the mask of the RSS has come off again as it wants "Manusmriti" and not the Constitution, after the general secretary of the organisation, Dattatreya Hosabale, sought a review of the words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble to the Constitution.

"The mask of RSS has come off again. The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism and justice," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

"The RSS, BJP do not want the Constitution, they want 'Manusmriti'. They aim to strip the marginalised and poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged.

"The RSS should stop dreaming this dream — we will never let it succeed. Every patriotic Indian will defend the Constitution until their last breath," Gandhi asserted.

Addressing an event organised here on Emergency on Thursday, Hosabale said, "The Preamble to the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words. During Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, the judiciary became lame, then these words were added." The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary said discussions were held on this issue later but no effort was made to remove those words from the Preamble. So whether those words should remain in the Preamble should be considered, he added.

"The Preamble is eternal. Are the thoughts of socialism as an ideology eternal for India?" Hosabale asked.