'Secular' & 'Socialist' not in Preamble, Oppn fumes

New Delhi, NT Bureau: Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday alleged that the words "secular" and "socialist" were missing from the Preamble in the copies of the Constitution given to lawmakers on the opening day of proceedings at the new Parliament building.

As many Opposition leaders also hit out at the government over what they called was a "serious" issue, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the copies carried the original version of the Preamble and that these words were added later to it after constitutional amendments.

"This is as per the original Preamble. Amendments were made later," he asserted. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi also said the words were not there in the Preamble.