Members of the Indian Youth Congress’ Karnataka legal cell have filed a police complaint against Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, accusing him of making “unconstitutional, inflammatory, and divisive” statements about the Indian Constitution.
The complaint, lodged at Seshadripuram Police Station in Bengaluru on Sunday, alleges that Hosabale’s recent remarks—calling for a debate on removing the words “socialist” and “secular” from the Preamble—amount to incitement against India’s founding values and an attack on constitutional ethos.
“I am filing this complaint in the interest of protecting the sanctity of the Constitution of India and preserving public order,” said Shreedhar MM, a representative of the Youth Congress, in his written complaint. “These remarks are not just ideational commentary. They are deliberate, provocative, and dangerous.”
The complaint argues that Hosabale’s statements violate provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and constitute an attempt to marginalize religious communities and sow disharmony. “These are not protected political speech,” the complainant wrote, adding that the comments “fall within the purview of cognizable criminal offenses.”
The controversy erupted last week when Hosabale, speaking at an event in Delhi, said:
“During the Emergency, two words, secular and socialist, were added to the Constitution, which were not part of the original Preamble. Later, these words were not removed. Should they remain or not…a debate must happen on this. These two words were not in Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution. During the Emergency, the country had no functioning Parliament, no rights, no judiciary and yet these two words were added.”
His comments referenced the 42nd Amendment passed in 1976, a contentious change made during the Emergency era.
While police have acknowledged receipt of the complaint, no First Information Report (FIR) had been registered at the time of publication.
“Such attempts to publicly erode constitutional values must be treated with utmost seriousness and urgency,” Shreedhar said. “A clear message must be sent that no one is above the Constitution.”
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)