BJP leader and Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha Prof. Rakesh Sinha has moved a private member’s resolution urging the government to bring an amendment to drop the word ‘socialism’ from the Preamble of the Constitution. His resolution says that the word ‘socialism’ was included in the constitution by the 42nd constitutional amendment act in 1976 when the Emergency was imposed and fundamental rights were suspended.
Prof. Rakesh Sinha’s resolution which was admitted on Wednesay, states that the word is redundant in the current scenario and that the word should be dropped to create space for economic thinking without a particular thought. Moreover, the word was inserted during Emergency when fundamental rights were suspended and hence no discussion or debates were held in Parliament over its inclusion and it was aimed to mislead people, says his resolution.
It is a known fact that the original constitution which was prepared under the chairmanship of Dr. BR Ambedkar did not include the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ as they never saw the need for it. The constituent assembly had held debates spread over many years before arriving at the constitution which came into practice in 1950.
Speaking to Indian Express, Prof. Rakesh Sinha said that “You cannot tie a generation to a particular way of thinking. Besides, the Congress party which ruled the country for seven decades has changed its direction from being socialist to welfare to neo-liberalism. Its new liberal policies adopted in the 1990s have negated its own earlier positions.” There should always be a scope of evolution in the thinking process based on time and context, as well as on the requirement of people says Prof. Sinha.
As per the rules of the Rajya Sabha, a Parliament member other than a minister who wants to move a resolution on a day allotted for private members’ resolutions, should give notice at least two before the final day of the draw. Hence, Rakesh Sinha’s resolution is slated for presentation and debate on Friday.
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