Overview
- BJP Rajya Sabha member Bhim Singh introduced a Constitution amendment bill to delete the two words from the Preamble, saying they were not in the 1950 text.
- Singh argues the 42nd Amendment inserted the terms during the Emergency in an undemocratic climate, a claim he links to the jailing of opposition leaders at the time.
- It is a private member's bill, and only 14 such bills have ever become law in India, with none passed by both Houses since 1970.
- The 1976 addition is undisputed historically, while an earlier 1948 attempt by K. T. Shah to write similar labels into Article 1 was rejected by the Constituent Assembly after B. R. Ambedkar objected to fixing policy in the constitutional text.
- The move follows recent calls by RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale and some Union ministers for a debate on removing the terms, as Singh says his goal is to bring the issue before the public and government.