206 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
is to be the electorate which is to represent or elect the representatives of Part C States in the Upper Chamber at the Centre? The second is the distribution of the seats which have been assigned to Part C States by the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. And thirdly we have to consider the method of representation, whether they should be elected, by election, by nomination or by some other method.
Now, the first question, namely the question of the electorate is dealt with in clause 9 of the Bill and it is to that clause that I propose first to draw the attention of the House. In considering this question, the question of the electorate, the House will remember that the Constitution has laid down the general principle for the composition of the Upper Chamber. That principle will be found in article 80, clause (4). That clause says though it is confined to the representation of Part A and Part B States, that the representation to the Upper Chamber shall be by indirect election by Members of the Legislatures in Part A and Part B States, That being so, in devising a method for securing representation to Part C States in the Upper Chamber, it is necessary and obligatory to follow that principle namely, that the representation shall be by the indirect method. Now, in following this method, there is one difficulty that stands up at the outset.
So far as Part A and Part B States are concerned, the electorate already exists, namely, the Assemblies in the various Part A and Part B States. With regard
12 N OON . to Part C States, there are no such Assemblies in existence and one does not know when Parliament will undertake any kind of Legislation to provide a more popular method of administering Part C States. Consequently, we must proceed upon the hypothesis that no Legislative bodies exist in Part C States, nor are they likely to come into being by the time the elections take place. The question, therefore, is what should be the nature of the electorate. Obviously, the only other method that comes to one’s mind is to resort to the existing local bodies in all Part C States, such as municipal committees, town committees, village panchayats