Union Minister JP Nadda on Wednesday dismissed Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s claims about the removal of the Preamble from NCERT textbooks and said that there is “no question” of altering the Preamble.
Responding to Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s claims, Nadda affirmed the Modi government’s commitment to safeguarding the Constitution, despite not having personally reviewed the textbooks.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP government of removing the Preamble from NCERT textbooks.
“It has been reported that the Preamble of the Constitution was removed from the NCERT books. The preamble has been removed from NCERT textbooks, it was printed in the books earlier. The Preamble is the soul and spirit of the Constitution,” Kharge said.
Referring to the November 25, 1949, Constituent Assembly speech in which it was said, “We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. A political democracy can not last unless their lives are at the base of it social democracy. What does social democracy mean, it means a way of life that recognises liberty, equality, and fraternity. As the principles of life, these principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity are not to be treated as separate items in the Trinity. They form a union of trinity in the sense that, to avoid, and diverse from the other.”
He criticised the government for allegedly erasing statues of Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi and tampering with the Constitution.
“BJP since its election removed statues of Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr BR Ambedkar and then is editing the Constitution. Warns that people will not accept it. The RSS and BJP are forcing their communal ways of thinking on the citizens of India. The step taken by the NCERT is not right ” he added.
The accusation sparked loud protests from the Treasury benches, and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar intervened during the debate.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “Nothing will go on record. The last four minutes will be deleted. Please, everyone, take your seats. The leader of the house will speak after that.”
“If the Leader of the House and the Leader of Opposition speak, they should be heard about repatriation. What they speak chair is their to look into this,” he added.
Kharge said the government should issue a clarification and take back its steps “concerning the Constitution.” Kharge was also seen showing a newspaper clipping, but the Chairman said “The paper will not be shown.”
Responding to LoP Kharge, BJP’s leader of House JP Nadda said Kharge had raised the issue on the basis of reports and without ascertaining from the original source, which is the textbook in this case, and it raises questions on his wisdom.
“They should have credible sources and should not base their speeches on hearsay; newspaper clippings are not sources; sources are textbooks. I have not seen NCERT books or seen the changes, but with full responsibility, I want to say that the Modi government has full respect for the Constitution and there is no question of tinkering with the Preamble. I can give my guarantee that the government is committed to the Constitution and Preamble; we started celebrating Constitution Day,” Nadda said.
He also referred to the imposition of an Emergency and the repeated dismissal of opposition state governments by the Congress.
“The worst day for the constitution was in fact June 25, 1975,” he added.
Nadda referred to Kharge’s remarks about the RSS and said it has patriotic people connected to the grassroots.
“You tried to prohibit RSS twice, but RSS came out even stronger, it is a nationalist organisation, that works to serve the country. Bharatiya Janata Party poori takat ke sath Maa Bharti ke seva mai Modi ji ke leadership mai lagi hai. The Preamble has been protected, will be protected,” Nadda said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan firmly refuted allegations that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution has been removed from NCERT textbooks.
In a tweet, Pradhan stated that these claims have no basis and emphasised that, under the National Education Policy (NEP), the NCERT has given due importance to various aspects of the Indian Constitution, including the Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, and the National Anthem.
