In June, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale sparked controversy with his suggestion to review and remove the inclusion of the words “socialism” and “secularism” in the Constitution’s Preamble during the Emergency. Speaking at Delhi’s Ambedkar International Centre during an event marking 50 years of the imposition of the Emergency, Hosabale pointed out he was making the statement in a building named after the head of the drafting committee of the Constitution, which did not have these terms in its Preamble until the 1970s.

Hosabale’s suggestion came even as the Supreme Court in October 2024 called “secularism” and “socialism” as integral to the Constitution’s basic framework, and months before the assembly elections in Bihar, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to form a government on its own.

Ahead of the 2015 Bihar polls, RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat’s suggestion of a review of the reservations is believed to have hurt the BJP’s prospects. The BJP’s key Bihar ally, chief minister Nitish Kumar, and his Janata Dal (U) or JD(U), swear by socialism and secularism.

Electoral........

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