350 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
again. The second course is to revive these laws and to say that the revival of these laws shall be subject to the provisions contained in the amended Constitution. I cannot see what else one can do. The Bill adopts the second course. The Bill says: let the laws which have been declared by the Supreme Court and the High Courts to be null and void be deemed to be alive, but subject to one proviso, and that proviso is that they shall not be alive in their original body and flesh but they shall be alive only in such degree and in such manner as may be consistent with the amended article 19. That is the position. Now, I would like to ask the House whether they will seriously contemplate the posibility of either this Parliament or the various Legislative Assemblies in the Provinces to again sit and re-enact these laws.
Dr. S. P. Mookerjee: Why not ?
Dr. Ambedkar: Is there time for it ?
Dr. S. P. Mookerjee: What is happening ?
Dr. Ambedkar: I do not know what time it might take. But I am sure about that if my hon. friend Dr. Mookerjee were to be a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, he will prevent such a law being passed there for at least six months. His argument, his eloquence, all that would stand as a formidable Chinese Wall against any re-enactment of these laws. Therefore, it seems to me not to be a very unnatural presumption that in the present circumstances in which this Parliament is situated or the local Legislative Assemblies are situated, you cannot presume that there would be immediately the time available for the re-enactment of these laws. I cannot think of it myself. We have so much legislation here.
Shri Sarangdhar Das: Why not the new Parliament ?
Dr. Ambedkar: If it is the new parliament, it means that for six, seven or eight months on a year, there will be no law for public order; there will be no law for incitement to an offence and no law for friendly relations with foreign States. If Members of Parliament can contemplate such a contingency, they are welcome to it.