New Delhi, September 10
CPI MP Binoy Biswam has moved the Supreme Court to oppose BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s petition seeking deletion of “secular” and “socialist” from Preamble to the Constitution.
Biswam, who has sought to be made a party to the case filed by Swamy, submitted that Swamy’s petition was an absolute abuse of the process of law as principles of “secularism” and “socialism” were inherent and basic features of the Constitution. Terming Swamy’s petition, which is likely to come up for hearing later this month, as being “devoid of merit”, the CPI MP said it deserved to be dismissed with exemplary costs.
The expressions “secular” and “socialist” were not there in the original Constitution and were added to it by the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 during the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government.
However, Biswam contended that the Constitution makers intended to keep the Indian polity secular and socialistic.