Vol. 15 · pages 551–555

534 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Shri Sidhva: I think it is a healthy suggestion that you have made. Shri Gautam: It will be very difficult for the House to decide whether there is some connection between one clause and the other. If you introduce this, then the tyranny of the majority will start not today, but tomorrow. Therefore, as protector of the privileges of this House, and especially of the minorities, I would request you not to introduce this novel procedure. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Let me not be misunderstood. I have nothing to say against the majority or the minority. I have only made an appeal to the House irrespective of the question of majority or minority. Shri Kamath: It is very gratifying to hear Mr. Mohanlal Gautam talk of the interests of the minority. Mr. Deputy Speaker: At any rate, I hope Members will bear my observation in mind and try to conclude before the end of the day. Shri Gautam: I congratulate the Government for introducing the Bill, although after a long time. There is a general impression in the country and also outside created by the opponents of the Congress and other interested parties that the Congress does not want to hold the elections. I think the Government has got its difficulties; the Provincial Governments have got their problems. But I can assure you of one thing and that is that the Congress as a political party has never been in favour of delaying the elections. We do not want to delay the elections because we are afraid of them. We want them to be completed as soon as possible. There are certain difficulties which have prevented Government from holding the elections earlier. There is in some quarters a lurking suspicion that the elections might be delayed a little further. I, Sir, would request Government that the elections must be held according to the schedule in November-December as announced by the President in his address to this House and no further delay should be brooked. 11 A.M.

535PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES *Shri Gautam: ......Then I come to the last point that I want to raise and that is about illegal practices. Dr. Ambedkar has laboured very much to explain one point to us which as the interruptions of the House showed was not clear to many of us and that was with regard to the return of election expenses...... Dr. Ambedkar: Not clear. Shri Gautam: The clause reads as follows: “The following shall be deemed to be illegal practices for the purposes of this Act:— (1) The incurring or authorisation by any person other than a candidate or his agent of expenses on account of holding any public meeting, or upon any advertisement, circular or publication.” Mark the words, it is not publication only. If a man distributes the handbills of a candidate, it is circulation “or in any other way whatsoever” and this opens the door. I do not know to what extent and to what limit. The clause further reads: “or in any other way whatsoever, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of the candidate, unless he is authorised in writing so to do by the candidate.” If I were a candidate, I think it will be impossible for me...... An hon. Member: You are making an announcement. ** Babu Ramnarayan Singh (Bihar) (English translation of the Hindi speech ) : I thank you, Sir...... Dr. Ambedkar: Speak in English. Babu Ramnarayan: No. Sir, we are now a free nation. Why should we remind ourselves of our slavery by speaking in English ? I will therefore express myself in Hindi. I very much appreciated one of the observations made by Hon. Dr. Ambedkar. It was that the object of the laws that *P. D., Vol. 11, Part II, 9th May 1951, p. 8375. **Ibid., p. 8413.

536 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES are being made would be such as may ensure that no Government in the country may be able to corrupt the Members of Parliament. This is a welcome thing but some provision should also be there, and I think it is very essential to see that the Government should not be corrupt because if the Government are itself corrupt, they would corrupt the Members also. It will certainly happen. Therefore the aim should be that no opportunity be made available to corrupt them which, in other words, means that there should be no corrupt Government in the country at all. * Pandit Krishna Chandra Sharma : These allegations are irrelevant in view of the fact that the other party is not here to explain the matter. Mr. Deputy Speaker: It relates to Congress elections. Dr. Ambedkar: The matter is now placed in the hands of the Election Commissioner under the Constitution. It is not in the hands of Government. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The Election Commission has been made supreme and the Select Committee proceedings show that they have given further powers in respect of the notification of the dates and other things both for the general elections as well as the bye-elections. The Election Commission has been made more and more important. Shri Kamath: He wants to support this salutary change. Mr. Deputy Speaker: But we are not enquiring into the past. Let him come to this Bill. ** Pandit Krishna Chandra Sharma : ......Then I come to the question of election expenses. As Prof. Shah said, most of the expenses will be incurred either in propaganda and *P.D. Vol. 11, Part II, 9th May 1951, p. 8415. **Ibid., pp. 8460-61.

537PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES publicity or in carrying the voters to the booths. So far as propaganda and publicity are concerned they would be done by the party to which the candidate belongs. Situated as we are it is very difficult for an individual to stand on his own account: a candidate, I suppose must belong to one party or another and that party will in course of time evolve its own method of working. We might make mistakes in the beginning but just as other people have evolved precise methods of working we too are not likely to fall in devising proper methods of propaganda and publicity. But I do not agree with the Hon. Law Minister that expenses incurred on propaganda on a party basis would be a part of the election expenses incurred by the candidate... The Minister of Law (Dr. Ambedkar): I did not say that—I said just the opposite. Pandit Krishna Chandra Sharma: Then it is all right. The election expenses of a candidate must be confined to expenses incurred with regard to that candidate, which would be incurred mostly by himself, his agent or on his behalf by his friends. So, the question of the expenses coming to large sums, as Prof. Shah fears, will not arise because among other things, the polling booths will be easy of access to all the voters which will eliminate heavy expenses...... *Dr. C. D. Pande (Uttar Pradesh): Before I take up the provisions of this Bill. I should like to make a reference to the compliment that has been paid by Dr. Ambedkar to the Members of this House. He referred to them as chorus girls. Dr. Ambedkar: I am sorry. I think it is quite wrong to say that I referred to the House. My observations were of a general character; they had nothing to do with the House at all. Shri R. Velayudhan: It was not about the House. Dr. C. D. Pande: If he did not mean that...... Mr. Deputy Speaker: He did not want Members of the House to be mere chorus girls when they are elected. *P.D., Vol. 11, Part II, 10th May 1951, pp. 8464-65.

538 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Dr. C. D. Pande : It comes nearly to the same thing. Dr. Ambedkar: Not at all. It refers to future Members. Dr. C. D. Pande : Anyhow, when I heard that remark...... Dr. Deshmukh: He has not discovered any of such characters here so far. Dr. C. D. Pande: I felt with some Members of the House at least that that remark was not a happy one, and the remark if it was appropriate, let me extend the simile further. What he said was that the Members were chorus girls. If we are all chorus girls, then he is the matron of that establishment. Shri Syamnandan Sahaya (Bihar): You may be one ; we are not. Dr. C. D. Pande : He is the matron of that establishment. Shri R. Velayudhan: Is it not an insinuation Sir? Shri Rajagopalachari: If we talk again and again about chorus girls perhaps they may object too! Mr. Deputy Speaker: As a matter of fact, some of the lady Members of this House expressed to me that I ought to have intervened and said that a reference ought not to be made to chorus girls. They are very touchy about these matters now-a-days. Dr. Ambedkar : I apologise if they have taken it in offence. This is what I said : if we did not do certain things, then what might follow will be like that. I had not the sightest idea to refer to the Members of this House. I was referring to the result that will follow if certain precautions are not taken. Babu Ramnarayan Singh (Bihar): You were right. Dr. C. D. Pande: If he did not mean it, I leave it at that. The main provisions of this Bill have been throughly discussed by previous speakers and I would touch only a few main points. To me, the most vital point is the use of the national flag in the election campaign in this country in which the Congress takes part wherein the use of the national flag could be avoided or should be avoided. The distinction between the national flag as accepted by Government and as used by the organisation is very slight and people are really confused.