Consider the following statements regarding the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution of India:
- 1. It added three words to the Preamble—‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’ and ‘Integrity’.
- 2. It added eight Fundamental Duties to the Constitution.
- 3. It added new Directive Principles, i.e., Article 39A, Article 43A and Article 47.
- 4. It granted power to the President, in consultation with the Election Commission, to disqualify members of the State Legislatures.
Which of the above statements are incorrect?
- A1 and 2
- B3 and 4
- C2 and 3
- D1 and 4
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: (c) 2 and 3
Explanation
The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 brought changes in many provisions of the Constitution and also added several new provisions. Hence, it is called the “Mini-Constitution”. Through it, the following provisions were added or amended—
• It added three new words in the Preamble— Socialist, Secular and Integrity.
• It added 10 Fundamental Duties in the Constitution.
• Three new Directive Principles were added— equal justice and free legal aid (Article 39A), participation of workers in the management of industries (Article 43A), and protection and improvement of the environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife (Article 48A).
• By substituting Article 192, it provided the President with the power to disqualify members of State Legislative Assemblies/Councils on the advice of the Election Commission; however, by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, this power was again given to the Governor. Thus, in the given statements, statements 1 and 4 are correct, while statements 2 and 3 are incorrect.