570 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Pandit Mukut Bihari Lal Bhargava: Sir, in spite of the interruption of my hon. Friend, I must assert that this house as at present constituted, is thoroughly incompetent to deal with a measure of this vital nature. The question is . . .
Mr. Tajamul Husain (Bihar: Muslim): On a point of order, Sir. It has been decided by the Chair that this house is competent to deal with this Bill. After that ruling, can any hon. Member question whether this House is competent or not ?
Mr. Deputy Speaker : There is no harm. It is a ruling of the Speaker that this House is competent to deal with this Bill, and according to this, Bill is being pursued. If the hon. Member wants to raise other questions, or raise other reasons, other than legal technicalities, it is open to him to do so. But I would advise the hon. Member that this point has been raised by almost every one of the previous speakers and it has almost become state.
Pandit Mukut Bihari Lal Bhargava : Sir, it is only the interruption of my friend here that provoked me to make that remark, I do not question the constitutional power of the Legislature to pass this vital measure. But the question is one of propriety. Can you usurp the functions of a full-fledged legislature, can this House which was specially brought into existence for the particular purpose of drafting the Constitution of India, do that? Therefore, I submit apart from the constitutional aspect of the question, apart from the point of legal power of this Legislature, it is a question of propriety, and propriety is of immense importance. And I feel that I have the right to assert, in spite of the interruption of my learned friend and those with him, that this House must think thrice before dealing with a measure of this vital importance. And my submission is that this measure is not essential and this Government need not have a declaration of a nature to make this question an issue of confidence before the House. The question has to be dealt with a calm mind, and we have to take into consideration the devastating effect that this measure will have upon the entire structure and fabric of Hindu society.
Now, coming to my speech from the stage I left it, I was dealing with the question of innovation that has been introduced in this piece of legislation, namely, the bringing in of a daughter in the rank and file of simultaneous heir with the son. My respectful submission was and is, that this innovation is wholly uncalled for, and that this innovation will demolish the entire structure of Hindu society. Let