New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday defended Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's suggestion to reconsider the inclusion of the term "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Indian constitution, saying that any "right-thinking person" would support such a demand as these terms were not part of the original Constitution.

"Any right-thinking citizen will endorse it because everyone knows they are not part of the original constitution, which Dr Ambedkar and the rest of the committee wrote. This is not the question of BJP vs non-BJP...It is a matter of preserving democratic and constitutional values, and those violating the constitution are actually the biggest violators," Singh told reporters. He pointed out that the words "Secular" and "Socialist" were added later, through the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution during the emergency, and not by the original drafters.