1104 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Some Hon. Members : Question.
Pandit Malaviya: ............but are feeling seriously disturbed over it. They are today nonplussed and do not know what they should do in the face of the danger of such an enactment being made. ( Interruption ). Some friends of mine, tamely and in a parrot-like manner, probably by the force of habit, go on saying ‘question’. I challenge them in all humanity to come and question my statement anywhere in this country. I have expressed the opinion in a meeting of the congress Party Members of this Parliament at another place that in a matter of such universal importance, even if it be not legally wrong to make any enactment in this way, it is the height of moral injustice that we should take up such a matter without giving the amplest possible opportunity to those who are affected by it to express themselves upon the issue. I have said that in a matter of this nature, the very minimum that we can expect should be that the issue should be put before the electorate at a General Election or that indeed a referendum should be allowed to be taken upon it.
Shri Bharati: On monogamy ?
Pandit Malaviya : My esteemed friend Shri Bharati has obviously one and only one stale card to play on all occassions, right or wrong, relevant or irrelevant. I shall come to that card in due course and shall show what value that hand of his has. But the interruption by the word ‘monogamy’ is not going to take away from my argument that in this matter the only right course for us to follow is that we should have a referendum in this land to allow people to express themselves on this issue and then if we find that there is even a fair minority— I go to that length ; my challenge is not couched in any spirit of doubt or fear—I say that if as a result of a referendum even a substantial minority of the people are in favour of such a measure, by all means let us sit down seriously to the task of framing it. If that be not possible. I would ask my hon. friends who question my statement to persuade the Government of the day and the law Minister of the day to allow half a dozen people to resign their seats—I am prepared to be one of them—and let us have bye-elections in four weeks’ time distinctly on the issue of this Code.........
Shri Bharati: On monogamy ?
Pandit Malaviya: .........and if out of those six even in a few constituencies in those bye-elections the protagonists of the Hindu Code Bill get returned...