VARANASI, June 28 -- Amid a national debate on whether the words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' should remain in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday invoked India's civilisational ethos to argue that these words do not reflect the country's core cultural values. He came down heavily on the Congress, saying the party should apologise for imposing Emergency in the country 50 years ago. He said the word 'secularism', added to the Constitution by the Congress, should be removed, while there's also no need for the word 'socialism' as equality is the basic principle of India. "Sarva dharma sambhav (equal respect for all religions) is the core of Indian culture, but secularism is not a core value of our culture...it was inserted during the Emergency. That is why there should be strong consideration on removing the word 'secularism' from the Indian Constitution," said the minister, responding to a query at a press conference. "The second word is 'socialism': Sabko apne jaisa maano, live and let live, the world is one family are the core of India. That is why there is also no need for the word 'socialism'. It's removal should be considered seriously," added Chouhan. The minister alleged that the Congress amended the Constitution to save its power as well as to impose its ideological agenda. "The Congress added words like 'secular' and 'socialist' to the Constitution by amending it so that the party could impose its ideological agenda on the nation. This amendment extended the period of Emergency and the President got the right to declare emergency even without prior approval of Parliament," he said. htc...