Now, Sir, I would like to refer to the speech of my Friend Shri L. N. Sahu. Hearing him one would think that there is nothing in this Constitution worth looking at. He repeated the language of those who said, and rightly said in regard to the Government of India Act, that it should not be touched with a pair of tongs even. That seems to be the idea of my Friend Shri L. N. Sahu. But may I ask him to push his memory back to the first week of December 1946 ? What was our position then? The Muslim League had boycotted the elections and tried to boycott this Constituent Assembly. It was said that unless the grouping system was agreed to, the Constituent Assembly will not sit. When the Muslim League stood out in a body boycotting the Constituent Assembly, there seemed to be no use proceeding with this Assembly. There was, I remember, a voice even among the Members of the Constituent Assembly who did not belong to the Muslim League which said that we should better postpone the Objectives Resolution, allow the Muslim League Members to come to the House and then proceed with our work or postpone the sitting of the Constituent Assembly altogether. That was a very critical moment. If at that moment our leaders had hesitated and faltered, if our leaders Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel had faltered, the hope of acquiring independence at early date would have completely disappeared. If on the other hand we took our seats as Members of the Constituent Assembly, if once the Constituent Assembly which is a sovereign body assembled in session, there was no power on earth which could obstruct the gaining of independence. In fact it has proved so. Pandit Nehru, with absolute determination, said “Let whatever happen, let grouping come or not, let the Constituent Assembly sit and decide the question.” When once it sat the way to independence was clear and open, because whatever Constitution was made by the Constituent Assembly would be the constitution that will be enforced. So, Sir, victory in the fight for independence was achieved from the moment the Constituent Assembly sat. And today we must give all credit to those statesmen who somehow or other brought about the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly. Sir, when you remember those days, you remember also Mahatma Gandhi who had smashed the grouping system. Unfortunately, even the Congress Working Committee was not in a clear mood on that point. But for Mahatma Gandhi, and our Premier of Assam, the major provinces of Bengal and the Punjab and a large area of Assam would have become part of Pakistan. So, may I ask my honourable Friend Mr. Sahu to ponder over this and see what we have gained by carrying out the plan for the Constituent Assembly and the Constitution ? What is the position today under the Constitution and what was the position the other day when he was in December 1946 ?
