I&B Min directed to use image of 'amended' Preamble only

PTI NEW DELHI, JANUAYR 31 In the backdrop of the row over a government ad displaying a picture of the "original" Preamble which did not have the words 'secular' and 'socialist', the I&B Ministry has now decided that in future ads image of only the amended version of the Preamble will be used. Officials said that I&B minister Arun Jaitley has directed the ministry to see that from now on government advertisements should use the 1976 version of the Preamble to the Constitution where the words 'secular' and 'socialist' were added. "We have been asked by the I&B minister to see that in future, amended version of the Preamble to the Constitution is used in advertisements," a senior official said.A row had earlier erupted over a Republic Day advertisement issued by the I&B ministry which carried a picture of the Preamble to the Constitution as it appeared before the 42nd Amendment, without the words 'secular' and 'socialist'. The government had to face criticism from some quarters over the advertisement. Congress leader and former Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari attacked the Centre on the issue, claiming the government advertisement "deleted" the two words, which was only a prelude to their "substitution" with "communal" and "corporate". Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore, however, was quick to dismiss the charge, saying his ministry had only used an "original" picture of the Preamble as it appeared before the Amendment, to "honour" the first Preamble.Rathore had said that while some people were trying to rake a controversy, the ministry had only used a picture of the Preamble when the Constitution was first adopted. Modi’s ‘silence’ on Hindutva statements shocking: Karuna PTI CHENNAI, JANUARY 31 Coming down on what he termed were increasing instances of right-wing leaders and some central ministers making Hindutva statements, DMK president M Karunanidhi today said it was surprising and shocking to watch the 'silence' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over them. "The silence maintained by Modi -- who is supposed to deny and clarify on opposite opinions made by anyone, which would pull the country back -- is surprising and shocking to those who believe in progressive ideals like democracy, secularism, peace, equality and inclusive development," he said in a 'Question and Answer' released by his party. To a query seeking his opinion on increasing demands from some to declare India a Hindu state, he referred to a recent VHP meeting in Tiruchirappalli, where its leader Praveen Togadia reportedly insisted for a Uniform Civil Code for the entire nation and to declare the country a Hindu state. "This is not the first time such statements are being made. Since BJP came to power at the Centre, India has been listening to such statements made by many people from Hindutva organisations like RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena and even some central ministers," Karunanidhi said. Some "fundamentalist" ideals such as 'All in India are Hindus', 'Godse is patriot too, like Gandhi; need to install statue for Godse', 'Sanskrit in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools' are increasingly being heard, the DMK patriarch noted. He referred to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's remarks in the past on the Gita to be made the national book, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's comments on secularism and VHP's statement on observing 'Ram Mahotsav' in March-April this year. CPI opposes dropping of ‘secular’ word from Preamble PTI HYDERABAD, JANUAYR 31 Noting that secularism reflected the "character" of India, Communist Party of India national general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy today decried the dropping of the word "secular" from the Preamble of Constitution and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi come clear on the issue. "Secularism reflects the character of India. Socialism reflects the goal India has to achieve. The words socialist and secular were incorporated in the Preamble in 1976. They should not be removed. The Government of India, the BJP and the NDA should desist from such a move," the CPI leader told a press conference here this afternoon. After the Partition, Pakistan chose to become an Islamic Republic while India remained a secular Republic. Would the word Republic also be removed from the Preamble, Suravaram said."The RSS wants a Hindu State. One Union Minister says time has come for repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution (that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir). Prakash Javadekar talks in support of dropping the words secular and socialist from the Preamble. Another Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu says the country will remain secular. It is not sufficient if Venkaiah Naidu says this, the Prime Minister himself should respond and come out with a clarification," the CPI general secretary said. Suravaram also demanded that the Centre publicise details of the nuclear deal signed between India and the USA during President Barack Obama's recent visit. "In the five-page joint statement released after the meeting between Narendra Modi and Obama, there was only one paragraph about the nuclear deal. Signing the deal without any discussion in Parliament only amounts to deceiving the nation," he alleged. He pointed out that not a single unit of nuclear power was produced in India though a civilian nuclear deal was signed between India and the US in 2008. "Not a single nuclear power plant has been set up in the US in recent years as they are using gas for electricity generation. The US is only trying to thrust obsolete nuclear technology and machinery on India," he added. Lashing out at the disinvestment of public share in Coal India Limited, Suravaram alleged that the NDA government was continuing the UPA government's policy only to help private players. "When the UPA-1 government sought to divest public shares in BHEL in 2006-07, we opposed it and the move was stalled for six months. During that period, BHEL stock value tripled. Disinvestment will only help private investors," he said. "Only Adani and Ambani gained Rs one lakh crore since Modi became Prime Minister. The NDA government is not ready to levy tax on windfall profits," Suravaram alleged.