New Delhi: A fresh controversy erupted on Friday after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale called for a review of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

The remarks, made at an event in Delhi late Thursday night, drew support from Shiv Sena while Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) criticised it on Friday. Hosabale, speaking at the Ambedkar International Centre, made a strong pitch to consider whether the words socialist and secular, which were added to the Preamble by the Congress government during the Emergency, should remain.

He further said: "The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were added to the Preamble during the Emergency. No attempt was made to remove them later. There should be a discussion on whether they should remain. I say this in a building named after Babasaheb Ambedkar, whose original Constitution did not include these terms in the Preamble."

"The days of the Emergency also witnessed large-scale forced sterilisation," Hosabale added.

Hosabale's remarks came after the BJP-led Central government on Wednesday observed June 25 as the 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas', marking the 50th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the imposition of the Emergency as one of the darkest chapters in India's democratic history, saying the Congress not only violated the spirit of the Constitution but placed "democracy under arrest".