Allegation of NCERT dropping Preamble to Constitution from textbooks baseless: Dharmendra Pradhan

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday dubbed the allegation that the Preamble to the Constitution has been removed from NCERT textbooks as baseless and alleged that the Congress is using the subject to pursue its “politics of lies”, which shows the opposition party’s disgusting mentality. Alleging that the Congress has always hated India’s development and education system, Pradhan said those who are playing with the future of children and calling the Indian education system rubbish should try to know the truth before spreading lies.

The comments from the education minister came amid news reports claiming that the Preamble to the Constitution has been dropped from certain National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks.

Ranjana Arora, Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Development at the NCERT, had on Monday clarified that the allegation was not true.

“The allegation that the Preamble to the Constitution has been removed from NCERT textbooks has no basis. For the first time, under the National Education Policy, the NCERT has given due importance and respect to various aspects of the Indian Constitution — Preamble, fundamental duties, fundamental rights, national anthem — in the textbooks.

“But using a subject like education for the politics of lies and taking the help of children for this shows the disgusting mentality of the Congress party. Inspired by Macaulay’s ideology, the Congress has always hated India’s development and education system,” Pradhan wrote in a post in Hindi on X.

He claimed that the argument that only the Preamble reflects constitutional values exposes the Congress’s understanding of the Constitution. “The Congress’s pot of sins is full and those who are roaming around these days as ‘fake Constitution lovers’ and waving copies of the Constitution, their ancestors had repeatedly killed the basic spirit of the Constitution.

“If there is even a little shame and remorse left in the Congress party, it should first understand the Constitution, constitutional values and the NEP, and stop doing petty politics in the name of the country’s children,” Pradhan said.