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dated August 11, 1956: Nehru deplores violence

Prime Minister Nehru has deprecated the tendency noticed in the country to challenge the decisions of Parliament "on the streets in a violent way." He said it was something basically opposed to the whole democratic conception and method. Mr. Nehru, who was speaking on the States Reorganisation Bill during the third reading in the Lok Sabha on August 10, appealed to the members to produce an atmosphere of co-operation in the country and help in the implementation of the decisions taken by the House. The Prime Minister was frequently interrupted and repeatedly heckled by the Opposition members. The first verbal clash occurred when Mr. Nehru reiterated that it was an extraordinary thing to say that the recent violence in Ahmedabad was provoked by the police. Raising his voice in anger, he asked whether members opposite had ever condemned an act of violence. His complaint was that they were encouraging such acts. The Opposition members stood up and shouted in protest against the Prime Minister's remark. Mr. Nehru retorted by reminding the Opposition that they could not claim that they alone could speak in strong terms. Later, the House passed, amidst cheers, the SR Bill as amended. There was no dissenting voice. Mr. N.V. Gadgil, who was the first speaker during the third reading, began with a quotation from a speech of Sir Winston Churchill, who was then in the Opposition, delivered in the British House of Commons during the final consideration of the Government of India Act of 1935: "The Bill has now become an Act. It is the law of the land and Parliament, in its collective wisdom, has given its verdict. In that spirit, I accept it and will continue to accept it until it is altered or abolished as a result of the dynamic forces of democracy." Mr. Gadgil said that, in that spirit, he also accepted the present decision for a bilingual State of Bombay though the decision of the House was not to his liking.

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