DRAFT CONSTITUTION 735
NEW ARTICLE 79-A
*The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Bombay : General) : Sir, I move :
That in amendment No. 1 of List I (First Week) of Amendments to Amendments,’ for the proposal new article 79-A, the following be substituted :—
Secretariat of Parliament “79-A. (I) Each House of Parliament shall have a separate Secretarial Staff:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed as preventing the creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament.
(2) Parliament may by law regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed, to the secretarial staff of either House of Parliament.
(3) Until provision is made by Parliament under clause (2) of this article, the President may, after consultation with the Speaker of the House of the People or the Chairman of the Council of States, as the case may be, make rules regulating the recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretarial staff of the House of the People or the Council of States, and any rules so made shall have effect subject to the provisions of any law made under the said clause.”
The House will see that this is a new article which is sought to be introduced in the Constitution. The reason why the Drafting Committee felt the necessity of introducing an article like this lies in the recent Conference that was held by the Speakers of the various Provinces in which it was said that such a provision, ought to be made in the Constitution.
It was, as every one most probably in this House knows, a matter of contention between the Executive Government and the President ever since the late Mr. Vithalbhai Patel was called upon to occupy the President’s Chair in the Assembly. A dispute was going on between the Executive Government and the President of the Assembly. The President had contended that the Secretariat of the Assembly should be independent of the Executive Government. The Executive Government of the day, on the other hand, contended that the Executive had the right to nominate, irrespective of the wishes and the control of the President, the personnel and the staff required to serve the purposes of the Legislative Assembly. Ultimately, the Executive Government in
1928 or 1929 gave in and accepted the contention of the then President and created an independent secretariat for the Assembly. So far,
- CAD, Vol. IX, 30th July 1949, pp. 2-3.