1082 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
carry-over of the Deputy Speaker of the Centre and the absence of any such provision with regard to the carry-over of the Speaker in the Provinces. I myself, and the Drafting Committee were conscious of this difference between the two provisions, and we had intended to introduce subsequently an amendment to make good the lacuna. Mr. Kamath may, therefore, rest assured that the Drafting Committee will not allow this difference to continue, but will make good by an amendment.
The other point of some substance was the one raised by my Friend Mr. Muniswamy Pillay with regard to the representation of the Scheduled Castes in the Provisional Parliament. The position is this. There are at present 310 Members of this Assembly, and the Provisional Parliament will also continue to consist of 310 Members. On the basis of population which is the principle adopted for the representation of the Scheduled Castes in the future Parliament, on a purely population basis, they should get 45 seats out of this
- They have, as a matter of fact, today only 28 seats. The article makes a definite provision that there shall be no diminution in the 28 seats they have now. But with regard to making good the difference between the 45 to which they are entitled on the basis of population and the 28 which they have got, I think we have left enough power in the hands of the President to adopt and modify the rules so as to make good the deficiency, as far as it would be practicable to do so under the provisions of new article 312 F.
Now I come to the amendment of Mr. Pataskar. So far as I have been able to understand him, there is really no difference between the draft article and the amendment suggested by him, in principle. Both article 311 as I have moved and the amendment as moved by Mr. Pataskar agree that we ought to make a provision for the abolition of dual membership. The only question that remains is how it is to be done. According to the provisions contained in this article, what is stated is that the vacancy shall occur only from the commencement of the Constitution. He will continue sitting and functioning as a Member until that date, that is to say, 25th January 1950, assuming that the Constitution comes into existence on the 26th January. But elections to fill the seats which have so become vacant may be held at any time before the commencement of this Constitution so that when the Constituent Assembly meets as the provisional Parliament there may not be any sudden depletion in its membership. What my Friend Mr. Pataskar wants is that the vacancy should come into effect from the commencement of the Constitution, and that the unseating should take place from one month thereafter. That is the only difference.