Vol. 13 · pages 1186–1190

is this that the Government of India Act, 1935 will continue in operation after the 25th November. So long as that Act continues, the Governor-General’s right to act under it also continues. He may take action at any time that he likes. My friend Mr. Sidhva raised one question, namely that any action that may be taken between now and the 25th January should be subject to the scrutiny of Parliament. I think what he intends is that it should not be merely the act of the executive. My friend Mr. Sidhva will remember that our Constitution will come into operation on the 26th of January. Till the 25th of January, the Constitution which will be operative in India will be the Constitution embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935, as adapted on 15th August 1947. Therefore, between now and the 25th of January, the Constitution is not the Constitution that we shall be passing, but the Constitution embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935. Therefore in replying to his question whether the Parliament should have the right or the Indian legislature should have the right to be consulted in this matter, must be determined by the terms contained in section 290 of the Government of India Act, 1935. If my friend Mr. Sidhva were to turn to section 290 of the Government of India Act, he will see that the Governor-General is not required to ascertain the views of the Provincial Legislature nor is he required to ascertain the views of the Indian Legislature. All that he is required to do is to ascertain the views of the Government of any Province affected by the order. Therefore, so far as the operation of section 290 is concerned— and it is the only section which can be invoked so far as any action with regard to reconstitution of Provinces between now and the 25th January is concerned—this has placed both the Provincial Legislature and the Indian Legislature outside the purview of any consultation that the Governor-General may make for acting under section 290. Therefore with the best wishes in the world it is not possible to carry out the wishes of my friend Mr. Sidhva. He must therefore remain content with such provisions as we have got under section 290. Sir, I do not think any other article calls for a reply. I would therefore close with the hope that the House will be in a position to accept the amendments proposed by the Drafting Committee. (Cheers). Mr. President : I will now put the amendments one by one to vote. Members have noticed that there are many amendments which arise on some amendment or other of the Drafting Committee. It may be that some of the amendments which have been moved by members may be accept1153DRAFT CONSTITUTION

able to the Drafting Committee and it may be that some Members are willing to withdraw the amendments which they have moved. [In all 95 amendments of the Drafting Committee alone were accepted. 66 amendments were negatived and 36 withdrawn.] ***** *Mr. President : Before we adjourn for the day we shall make some arrangement regarding the time-table as to what we propose to do. I take it that we do not sit this afternoon. I want to know from Members how many of them would like to speak, so that I might fix an order as also the time. As regards sitting on Saturday next it is not possible for me to decide now. I shall decide it on Friday as to whether we shall sit on Saturday or not. As regards the sessions from day to day, what is the wish of the House ? Several Honourable Members : Five hours a day. Prof. N. G. Ranga (Madras : General) : One sitting from 2-30 to 6-30 p.m., so that we shall come only once. Mr. President : What is the time-limit for each speaker? Shri K. M. Munshi : I suggest 15 minutes and five hours a day so that Members might get a few days between this and the next session. Several Honourable Members : Half an hour. Mr. President : As a compromise the time-limit will be 20 minutes for each speaker. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : All that we can do now is to decide whether we should sit tomorrow. In the meantime it would be desirable if you could invite Members who desire to speak to send in their names to you. After ascertaining the number of speakers who desire to take part in the general debate it will be possible for you to determine whether we should have two sessions a day and also as to the time-limit for every speaker. At the moment nobody is in a position to know how many Members wish to speak. If the number of speakers are not too many it will be possible to increase the time for each Member and it will also be possible to have one session a day. I therefore suggest that you should only fix the meeting for tomorrow and in the meantime ask Members to indicate their wishes to you, so that you may have a list of speakers and then we can come to a decision as to other points, such as the time-limit for each speaker and the number of the daily sessions, whether it should be one or two. *CAD, Official Report Vol. X, 16th November 1949, p 606. 1154 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

Mr. President : I think that is a practical suggestion. Shri T. T. Krishnamachari : May I say, Sir, that we sit tomorrow as usual from ten to one and from three to five ? Mr. President : For the present I decide that we meet tomorrow as usual at Ten of the Clock and I expect Members to send to the office by this evening their names if they wish to take part in the debate. That information will enable me to decide the hours of sitting, etc. I may say that it would be open to a Member not to participate in the debate even though he has given his name. The House stands adjourned till Ten of the Clock tomorrow. The Assembly then adjourned till Ten of the Clock on Thursday, the 17th November, 1949. 1155DRAFT CONSTITUTION

PART III November 17, 1949 to November 26, 1949