Sir, I was one of those who was opposed to the formation of Upper Chambers altogether. But, the principle has been accepted by this House when it passed article 148 and we have provided for Second Chambers in some provinces – Madras, West Bengal, etc. Therefore, I welcome this provision which enables the Assemblies to abolish those Chambers. In my amendment, I have only provided that once a resolution under this article is brought before the Assemblies, due notice of it must be given. I have therefore said that no such resolution shall be considered by the Legislative Assembly in any State, nor any corresponding Bill shall be discussed in Parliament unless at least fourteen days’ notice of the same has been given. It is quite possible that a resolution may be passed without adequate notice. It may be within the knowledge of Members that some times in Parliament, the order papers are received only a day in advance and it is quite possible that unless a fortnight’s notice of such a vital amendment is given, some Members may be absent during its consideration for want of notice. I therefore think that it would be better if this principle is accepted; no harm would be done thereby. In fact, I would have wished that we had not made any provision at all for Second Chambers and left it entirely to the Assemblies to decide whether they wanted to have one. What we have done is, we have provided for Second Chambers and also for their abolition.
