DRAFT CONSTITUTION 475
We would not be in a position even to reduce the pension in order to bring it down to his salary. Therefore, in the form in which the amendment is moved, I do not think that it is a practical proposition for anyone to accept. But there is no doubt about the general view that he has expressed, that after a certain period of service in Parliament, Members, including the President, ought to be entitled to some sort of pension, and I think it is a laudable idea which has been given effect to in the British Parliament, and I have no doubt about it that our future Parliament will bear this fact in mind.
Then with regard to the question raised by Professor Kamath about residential……..*
Shri H. V. Kamath : Sir, I am not Professor Kamath.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : But he is quite entitled to be called Professor because he speaks so often. ( Laughter. )
Shri H. V. Kamath : God forbid I should ever become a professor, ( Laughter. )
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Well, my friend Mr. Kamath asked me to explain why we have included this provision here, with regard to the official residence of the President, and he also twitted me on the fact that I was burdening the Constitution by mentioning it and other small minutiae. It might be though that this is a small matter and might not have been included in the Constitution. But the question I would like to ask Mr. Kamath is this. Does he or does he not intend that the President should have an official residence and that Parliament should make provision for it ? And is there very much of a wrong if the proposition was stated in the Constitution itself? If the intention is that…….
Shri H. V. Kamath : Sir, may I know whether the Prime Minister will or will not have an official residence 7
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Yes, this is merely a matter of logic. I want to know if he does or does not support the proposition that the President should have an official residence. If he accepts that proposition, then it seems to me a matter of small import whether a provision is made in the Constitutiom itself or whether the matter is left for the future Parliament to decide. The reason why we have introduced this matter in the Constitution is that in the Government
*Dots in the original debates indicate interruption.