Sir, I am only proposing the extension of the principle which we accepted yesterday in the matter of election to the Council of States. I am very much gratified to find, Sir, that yesterday the House recognised the principle underlying this method of election and I need not repeat all the arguments that I adduced yesterday in support of this system and to establish the fact that this system of election is more democratic and more scientific. But by the speeches of some honourable Members of this House, especially my honourable Friend Pandit Kunzru, an impression was created on this House that in that particular case, namely, in the case of the Council of States, the electorate therefore are the Members of the legislature, who were elected on a joint electorate and not on communal electorate. Therefore, there was no danger, if this system is adopted for the election of Council of States and of any council, of any communal party coming in. That was the reason, he said, he was supporting it. Thereby he meant, if I may be permitted to say inferentially, that if the method of election would enable communal parties to be returned to the legislature, he would not support it. My submission is that there is no scope for any communal body as such being returned by this method, and if it could be returned, it would be returned in the same way as anybody holding different views from the majority party could be returned. If there is no objection to a section of people holding views different from the majority, they could get into the legislatures by this method. I do not see any reason why any communal body should have the right to be returned. The reason why Pandit Kunzru supported this method for the Council of States, he said, was that people holding different views must be enabled to be returned, although they may be holding the view which was not held by the majority. That was the reason why he said that proportional representation method is good, because it enabled people, who held different views from the majority, to enter the legislature.
