224 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
*Mr. Speaker : So then, I am afraid, looking at the trend of the discussion, I must put the amendment of Mr. Deshbandhu Gupta to the House.
Dr. R. U. Singh : But Sir, my questions have not been answered. I wanted to know two things, What is the basis on which the Legislative Councils will be elected as the populations electing the members will be very low. And secondly, whether the Hon. Minister will be pleased, in view of the points that I had stressed, to reconsider the position. As I said it is intrinsically wrong and this is a hotch-potch arrangement for which there is no justification, I would like to hear what Dr. Ambedkar has to say.
Mr. Speaker : Has the Hon. Law Minister followed the point which the hon. member is raising?
Dr. Ambedkar : Some hon. members have always felt that I am one of the hardest nuts in the cabinet. I now find the advantage of being a hard nut. To be yielding to all people, all and sundry, lands one in the difficulty in which I find myself now. If I had decided to stick to the original position, probably I might not have been in the difficulty in which I find myself now.
But having accepted the position on the assurance, of course, that the elections to these municipal bodies are going to be based upon adult suffrage, I do not think that there was any very great principle involved, in accepting the suggestion made by my friend Mr. Deshbandhu Gupta.
Secondly, as hon. Members will see, this scheme may not even come into operation, because in the amendment that I have moved, I have made provision that if Parliament provides by law for the creation of legislative bodies as it is done in other Part B and Part A States, elections then will take place on the basis of the newly created bodies. Having regard to these facts, I am not disposed to attach very great importance to the decision, whether it is taken one way or the other, because I feel that if there is enough pressure and
- P. D., Vol. 7, Part II, 21st December 1950, pp. 2236-44.