DRAFT CONSTITUTION 461
Shri Mahavir Tyagi : May I take it that you give an assurance that such a census will be taken ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I cannot possibly give an assurance. But no government will overlook the vast changes that have taken place in the composition and the total population of the different provinces. We have guaranteed representation to a great population consisting of various minorities. There has been a great deal of debate, as Honourable Members know, over the question of weightage, and we know that weightage has been disallowed. If we now have the elections and allow them to take place and the seats to be assigned on the existing basis of population, when as a matter of fact, that basis has been lost by migrations, it might result in weightage to various communities, and no representation to certain communities. Obviously in order to avoid such a kind of thing and to see that no community has any weightage, undoubtedly, government will have to see that the census is a proper census.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : I want to know whether the Honourable Member means that no election under the new Constitution should be held unless this census was taken.
Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Well, it seems to me only a natural conclusion, because the seals for the elections cannot be assigned unless the populations of the various communities are ascertained. Therefore, that seems to me the logical conclusion, and a new census will be inevitable.
The other question that was greatly agitated by Mr. Tyagi and by Begum Aizaz Rasul and certain other members related to the election of the President. Now, there are two ways of electing the President. One way is to elect him by what is called a bare majority of the House. If a man got 51 per cent, he would be elected. That is one way of electing the President and that is the simple and straightforward one. Now, with regard to that, it may just happen that the majority party would be in a position to elect the President without the minority party having any voice in the election of the President. Obviously no Member of the House would like the President to be elected by a hare majority or by a system of election in which the minorities had no part to play. That being so, the election of the President by a bare majority has to be eliminated, and we have to provide a system whereby the minorities