Remove 'secular' from Constitution, demands Sanatan Sanstha
Mumbai, Aug 27 : Under the scanner of various investigating agencies, the right-wing Sanatan Sanstha on Monday demanded that the word 'secular' be removed from the Indian Constitution.
Sanstha spokesperson Chetan Rajhans said the words 'socialist' and 'secular' were added in the Constitution by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
"So, if there is a provision to add words, these can also be removed by the same provisions," he told a media conference in Mumbai.
Facing a barrage of questions, Rajhans said that the issue is "nothing new" and that the organisation has been demanding this for long through constitutional means.
Although Sanstha as well as another outfit, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, are currently facing the heat of various investigating agencies, Rajhans said none of the two was involved in any terror activity. "These are purely religious organizations," he added.
"We are being defamed in a pre-planned manner. We do not support or approve of violence in any form. Our mission for the past 27 years is to propagate 'dharma and spirituality," Rajhans said.
He also brushed aside any involvement of Sanatan Sanstha in the killings rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Communist leader Govind Pansare (both in Maharashtra), and author M.M. Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh (both in Karnataka).
"As per our information, nine persons have been arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad and the Central Bureau of Investigation. None of them is the Sanatan Sanstha's sadhak (seeker). In fact, we have heard of the five names among the accused for the first time. So nobody should link them with us," Rajhans said.
Besides, he pointed out, neither the ATS-CBI chargesheets nor the remand applications have named Sanatan Sanstha. "It is only parties like the Congress, communists, some intellectuals and thinkers and progressive organisations who are targeting the small organisation," he said.
"Demanding a ban on us or arresting our leader, just because the accused are arrested, is ridiculous," Rajhans said.
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Face of unity: Muslim-dominated Haryana panchayat elects Hindu woman as sarpanch
Gurugram, Apr 5 (PTI): The Muslim-dominated Siroli village in Haryana's Nuh district has elected its sole Hindu panchayat member as the sarpanch, an officer here said.
Thirty-year-old Nisha Chauhan was elected as Siroli sarpanch on April 2.
According to a senior panchayat officer, Siroli panchayat under the Punahana block has 15 members, of which 14 are Muslims and eight are women. The post of Siroli sarpanch is reserved for women.
Only 250 out of the 3,296 voters in the village are Hindus.
According to panchayat officer Nasim, the panchayat election was held in December 2022. However, the winning candidate, Sahana, was sacked some months later after her education certificates were found to be fake.
The newly elected sarpanch said that her victory is a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
"My village is Muslim-dominated but the old tradition of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood still exists there. In true sense, there is no religious discrimination in the Mewat area, a living example of which is my election as sarpanch. My victory is a message of communal brotherhood in the entire area," said Chauhan.
Former Siroli sarpanch and a current ward member, Ashraf, said the panchs have chosen Chauhan in the hope for better administration.
"Here Hindus and Muslims are in harmony. We fully participate in each other's happiness and sorrow," Ashraf said.
