624 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
overrule the Ministry. Therefore, the criticism that has been made that this article somehow enables the Governor to interfere or to upset the decision of the Cabinet is entirely beside the point, and completely mistaken.
Shri H. V. Kamath : Won’t he be able to delay or obstruct……….?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : My friend will not interrupt while I am going on At the end, he may ask any question and if 1 am in a position to answer, I shall answer.
A distinction has been made between the functions of the Governor and the duties which the Governor has to perform. My submission is that although the Governor has no functions still, even the constitutional Governor, that he is, has certain duties to perform. His duties, according to me, may be classified in two parts. One is, that he has to retain the Ministry in office. Because, the Ministry is to hold office during his pleasure, he has to see whether and when he should exercise his pleasure against the Ministry. The second duty which the Governor has, and must have, is to advise the Ministry, to warn the Ministry, to suggest to the Ministry an alternative and to ask for a reconsideration. I do not think that anybody in this House will question the fact that the Governor should have this duty cast upon him; otherwise, he would be an absolutely unnecessary functionary : no good at all. He is the representative not of a party; he is the representative of the people as a whole of the State. It is in the name of the people that he carries on the administration. He must see that the administration is carried on a level which may be regarded as good, efficient, honest administration. Therefore, having regard to these two duties which the Governor has, namely to see that the administration is kept pure, without corruption, impartial, and that the proposals enunciated by the Ministry are not contrary to the wishes of the people, and therefore to advise them, warn them and ask them to reconsider—I ask the House, how is the Governor in a position to carry out his duties unless he has before him certain information ? I submit that he cannot discharge the constitutional functions of a Governor which I have just referred to unless he is in a position to obtain the information. Suppose, for instance, the Ministers pass a resolution,—and I know this has happened in many cases, in many provinces today,—that no paper need be sent to the Governor, how is the Governor to discharge his functions ? It is to enable the Governor to discharge his functions in respect of a good and pure administration that we propose to give the -Governor the power to call for any