'This is original': Centre responds to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's claim on Constitution copies given to MPs

synopsis

Amidst a growing dispute between Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and the Centre, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday (September 20) addressed concerns regarding the Constitution's copies provided to Members of Parliament on Tuesday. He defended the copies by referring to them as "the original" and clarified that the absence of the words "socialist and secular" in the copies was consistent with the Constitution's original drafting.

During a media interaction, Meghwal said, "When the Constitution was drafted, it was like this. An amendment was made later. This is the original copy. Our spokesperson has replied to the same."

Earlier, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had raised doubts about the Centre's intentions, pointing out that the words "socialist and secular" were missing from the Preamble in the copies provided to MPs. He expressed concern over the absence of these words, despite knowing that they were added through an amendment in 1976. Adhir Ranjan labeled the move as a suspicious attempt to alter the Constitution.

"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," Adhir Ranjan said.

The new Parliament building held its inaugural session on Tuesday, with MPs receiving copies of the Constitution before entering the new facility. During the session, the Centre also introduced the Women's Reservation Bill, which proposes to reserve 33 percent of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.

A dispute ensued between the Congress and the BJP regarding the bill, with the former claiming it was initiated under the UPA government and the latter accusing the Congress of trying to take undue credit.