324 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
It may be said that the special responsibilities of the Governor-General is simply another name for the Veto power, that is the power to overrule the Ministers and that even in the English Constitution the King has such a Veto power. On the face of it, this view of special responsibilities of the Governor-General appears to be correct. But in reality it involves a misconception of the conditions and circumstances under which the King’s Veto power can be exercised.
To my knowledge no one has explained the relationship of the King and his Ministers in a system of responsible Government better than Macaulay. To use his language—
“In England the King cannot exercise his Veto power unless there is some Minister to take responsibility for the King’s act. If there is no Minister to take responsibility the King must yield, fight, or abdicate.” The Governor-General stands in a different position. He need not yield. He can act even if there is no Minister to take responsibility for his act. That is the difference between the King’s Veto and the Veto of the Governor-General. What is however more important to note is that this Veto power exists in respect of the Transferred field. In the dyarchical constitution in the Provinces the Transferred field was not subject to such a Veto power of the Governor. In other words there were no special responsibilities of the Governor. If the Governor-General can overrule Ministers even in the Transferred field, question is what substance is there in Ministerial responsibility. I see very little.
The second thing which is new is the separation between Governmental Authority and administrative control. Such a provision did not exist in the dyarchical constitution in the Provinces. In the dyarchical constitution of the Provinces when a subject was transferred both Governmental Authority as well as Administrative control was transferred to the Minister. You will ask yourself what substance is there in Ministerial responsibility if a Minister can only issue directions and cannot control the action taken thereunder ? I see very little.
The provision which existed in the dyarchical constitution of the Provinces and which has been omitted from the Federal Constitution relates to the financing of the Reserved subjects. Section 72D of the old Act of 1919 and sections 33 and 34 of the present Act may be usefully compared in this connection. Section 72D, sub-section ( 2 ) reads as follows:
“The estimates of annual expenditure and revenue of the Province shall be laid in the form of a statement before the Council in each year, and the proposals of the local Government for the appropriation of provincial revenues and other moneys in any year shall be submitted to the vote of the Council in the form of demands for grants. The Council may assent, or refuse its assent, to a demand, or may reduce the amount therein referred to, either by a reduction of any of the items of expenditure