DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 483
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad : There is my friend Mr. Bharathi. Is he right in telling the House what took place in the Select Committee ? If so, I have equally strong authority, also from the Members of the Select Committee themselves to the contrary. It would be very wrong to compare one Member’s statement with that of another and I would rather draw a veil on what happened in the Select Committee. The honourable Member need not assure us that the Select Committee has considered everything. If he is so sure, I am equally sure that for many reasons, adequate consideration could not be given.
Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi : I was talking only about myself.
Pandit Lakshmi KantaMaitra : You could not understand things.
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad : In fact, it is not the case of one man. It is the whole Select Committee and not a one-man affair. If one man has followed, it does not mean that others also have followed it.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : Yes, one swallow does not make a summer.
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad : Exactly, “One swallow does not make a summer”. If there is one man of the Select Committee who believed that no change was made, that would be enough to make out a case for recommittal of the Bill to the Select Committee. And I again submit that these are very serious changes. And then how many of them ? My friends wonder how many changes there are. I can show them many, many such changes. Take the...
Shrimati G.Durgabai : In the meantime, on a point of information, may I ask whether the changes made by the Select Committee are absolutely binding on this House. Cannot the House accept the changes or reject them ?
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad : I submit with all respect that it is irrelevant to ask if the Select Committee’s changes should be accepted or rejected by the House. The Select Committee can make any change and the House can make further changes too. The House can make changes. There is no doubt about it. But the point is that the Select Committee for some reason did not or could not or failed or omitted to discharge its duties fully. If that is so, the right to go fully into the question rests with the House and it is for this reason that I appeal from the Select Committee to the larger House. There is of course the still larger house, the entire electorate of India. I now come to clause 7 of the original Bill. ( Interruption ). I think some Members have lost their heads.