Adhir Ranjan’s big claim on Constitution copies given to MPs at new Parliament building

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday claimed that the new copies of the Constitution handed to the MPs before entering the Parliament building did not have the words ‘socialist secular’ in its preamble.

“The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us today (19th September), the one we held in our hands and entered (the new Parliament building), its Preamble doesn’t have the words ‘socialist secular’. We know that the words were added after an amendment in 1976 but if someone gives us the Constitution today and it doesn’t have those words, it is a matter of concern”, Chowdhury told news agency ANI, further hinting at foul play.

“Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly. It is a matter of concern for me. I tried to raise this issue but I did not get an opportunity to raise this issue”, he added.

The terms ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were inserted into the preamble as part of the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976 during the Emergency imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The Parliament convened Day 2 of the special session in the new building on Tuesday. The old building designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker that stood for over 96 years will now be called the ‘Samvidhan Sadan’. The new four-storey triangular shaped complex has been named ‘Parliament House of India’, according to an official notification.

During the special session in Lok Sabha, Adhir Chowdhury had invoked the constitution and said there is no difference between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ , referring to the controversy that erupted over the G20 dinner invite sent in the name of ‘President of Bharat’.

“This Constitution is no less than the Gita, Quran and Bible for us. Article 1 says, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States…” It means that there is no difference between India and Bharat. It will be better if nobody tries to unnecessarily create a rift between the two”, Chowdhury was quoted by ANI as saying.