6 NLC India contract workers attempt suicide in TN
Chennai, May 28: Six contract workers of integrated lignite mining company NLC India Ltd attempted suicide consuming poison in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district on Monday pressing for various demands, said police.
The contract workers were protesting outside a lignite mine in Neyveli.
Speaking to IANS a police officer in Cuddalore said the contract workers mixed pesticide in water and drank it. They have been admitted to hospital and their condition was stable.
According to the police, the contract workers were opposing their transfer to a different section.
NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) formerly, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, a Navaratna enterprise of the central government is an existing, profit making, public sector enterprise engaged in mining of lignite and generation of power through lignite based thermal power plants.
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SC upholds inclusion of ‘secular, socialist’ in Preamble of Constitution
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the inclusion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Constitution, confirming their retrospective application from November 26, 1949. The court ruled that the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368 extends to the Preamble, which is an integral part of the document.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna stated, “The power under Article 368 cannot be curtailed. It will equally apply to the Preamble.” The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced these terms in 1976 during the Emergency, was challenged on grounds of its retrospective application and the lack of states’ ratification.
The petitioners, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, argued that the amendment forced a particular economic theory on the nation and violated the original intent of the Constitution. Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay contended that the Preamble reflects the will of the people at the time of adoption in 1949 and is therefore unalterable.
The court dismissed these objections, affirming that both socialism and secularism are part of the Constitution's Basic Structure. The Bench clarified that socialism refers to a welfare state ensuring equality of opportunity without negating private sector participation or individualism. It emphasised that secularism is embedded in the Constitution, particularly in the principles of equality and fraternity.
Chief Justice Khanna remarked, “Secularism has always been a core feature of the Constitution.” He added that the amendment did not impose socialism as dogma but aligned with the welfare goals enshrined in various constitutional provisions.
