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| What about 'socialist' J&K | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Jan 8
In 60 years of its existence as a democratic state and 50 years after application of the separate constitution, the Jammu and Kashmir state constitution is yet to incorporate the most import word "socialist" in its preamble.
This issue has assumed all the more importance as the Supreme Court today turned down as plea for deleting the word "socialist" from the preamble of the constitution of India.
In Jammu and Kashmir, this issue of incorporating the word "socialist" in the preamble of the constitution has been raised several times but the government which ought to have brought a bill in the legislature has not taken note of it. Last year this issue was prominently raised by the Panthers Party legislator Harsh Dev Singh in the legislature but there was no subsequent follow-up.
Meanwhile, defining socialism as a means of public welfare, the Supreme Court today rejected a plea that the word "socialist" should be deleted from the preamble of the Constitution.
"Why do you take socialism in a narrow sense defined by communists. In broader sense, it means welfare measures for the citizens. It is a facet of democracy," a three judge Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan observed.
The Bench was hearing a PIL seeking direction to delete the word "socialist" from the preamble of the Constitution on the ground that it was originally not there and adding the word amounted to re-writing it.
"It hasn't got any definite meaning. It gets different meaning in different times," the Bench observed.
However, it agreed to hear the PIL which also sought to strike down the provision of Representation of People Act (RPA) requiring a political party to adhere to socialism for being recognised.
The Bench, also comprising Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal, will look into the issue of derecognising political parties which have wrongly shown allegiance to socialism in their manifesto despite their contrary objectives.
The Court after hearing the contention of the petitioner issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission.
"It is contrary to the Constitution and to its democratic foundations that political parties be called upon to swear allegiance only to a particular mindset or ideology," senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for petitioner, Kolkatta-based NGO Good Governance India Foundation.
Nariman said "Introducing the word socialist in the preamble breaches the basic structure and it is wholly inconsistent."
"The attempt to deliberately tunnel the collective view in one ideological direction is also a grave breach of the liberty provisions of the Constitution," Nariman said, seeking direction to strike down Sec 29A Representation of People Act.
The word "socialist" was introduced in the preamble in 42nd Constitutional Amendment in the year 1976. |
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