'BJP, Congress Often Play Such Tricks': BSP Chief Mayawati On RSS Leader's Suggestion To Remove 'Secular, Socialist' From Preamble

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Saturday lashed out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress amid the ongoing controversy over the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's pitch to remove "secular and socialist" from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, saying that both the parties often collude with each other.

She said that Congress and the BJP often play such tricks to hide their wrong policies.

"Congress and the BJP often play such tricks to hide their government's wrong policies and to divert people's attention. Both the Congress and the BJP are often in collusion with each other," Mayawati said in a press conference.

She further accused the BJP government at the centre of "never implementing" the Constitution with honesty.

"For the welfare and well-being of the entire society in the country, Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar has given India the Constitution. The Congress party, while in power, and now the people of the BJP-led NDA government have never implemented it with full honesty and integrity for the crores of people of the country. Both these parties and their supporters have also made many unnecessary changes in the Constitution from time to time, mostly under their party's ideology, principles and political interests. BSP condemns this in the strongest words," Mayawati said.

Earlier, Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi came down heavily on the RSS, saying that it doesn't want the Constitution but the Manusmriti. Intensifying his attack, Gandhi said that RSS intended to violate the rights of the marginalised and the poor while enslaving them.

"The mask of RSS has come off again," he added.

"RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution. They want Manusmriti. They aim to strip the marginalised and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," the Congress leader posed on X.

This development comes after Hosabale questioned the legitimacy of including the terms "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution on Thursday while addressing a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (under the Ministry of Culture), Ambedkar International Centre.

He remarked that during the Emergency, terms like "socialism" and "secular" were forcibly inserted into the Constitution -- a move that needs to be reconsidered today. He emphasised that the Emergency wasn't just a misuse of power but an attempt to crush civil liberties. Millions were imprisoned, and freedom of the press was suppressed.

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