DRAFT CONSTITUTION 507
ARTICLE 61
*Mr. Vice-President: Dr. Ambedkar.
Shri Lakshminarayan Sahu : (Orissa : General): Sir, this is a very important article on which I would like to……..
Mr. Vice-President: I know there are many Members who would like to speak on this article, but the time at the disposal of the House is extremely limited and I also feel that it has been sufficiently debated on.
Shri Lakshminarayan Sahu: But, Sir…………..
Mr. Vice-President: Kindly do not try to over-rule the Chair. Dr. Ambedkar.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Mr. Vice-President, Sir, I am sorry I cannot accept any of the amendments which have been tabled, either by Mr. Baig or Mr. Tahir or Prof. K. T. Shah. In reply to the point that they have made in support of the amendments they have moved, I would like to state my position as briefly as I can.
Mr. Mahboob Ali baig’s amendment falls into two parts. The first part of his amendment seeks to fix the number of the Cabinet Ministers. According to him they should be fifteen. The second part of his proposition is that the Members of the Cabinet must not be appointed by the Prime Minister or the President on the advice of the Prime Minister but should be chosen by the House by proportional representation.
Now, Sir, the first part of his amendment is obviously impracticable. It is not possible at the very outset to set out a fixed number for the Cabinet. It may be that the Prime Minister may find it possible to carry on the administration of the country with a much less number than fifteen. There is no reason why the Constitution should burden him with fifteen Ministers when he does not want as many as are fixed by the Constitution. It may be that the business of the Government may grow so enormously big that fifteen may be too small a number. There may be the necessity of appointing more members than fifteen. There again it will be wrong on the part of the Constitution to limit the number of Ministers and to prevent him from appointing such number as the requirements of the case may call upon to do so.
*CAD, Vol. VII, 30th December 1948, pp. 1156-61.