782 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
I should offer some explanation on behalf of the Drafting Committee as to why it has proposed to accept this amendment.
Before I begin with the main points, which justify the acceptance of the amendment. I should like to meet the point of criticism which has been levelled against the Drafting Committee by my Friend Professor Saksena.
Professor Saksena said that it was not proper for the Drafting Committee to have originally put clause (1) in the article and now be ready to accept the amendment moved by Mr. Tyagi. I should like to state that clause (1) which the Drafting Committee put, does not have its origin in the deliberations of the Drafting Committee itself. That clause was suggested, if I remember correctly, in the report of the Union Powers Committee where a decision was taken that there should be no imposition of any salt duty. As the Drafting Committee was bound by the directions and the principles contained in the report of the Union Powers Committee, they had no option except to incorporate that suggestion in the article which deals with this matter. Therefore, there is really no question of vacillation, so to say, on the part of the Drafting Committee.
I now come to the practical difficulties that are likely to arise if that clause was retained. It will be recalled that in List I, we have two entries, entry 86 which permits the levy of excise by the Central Government, we have also entry 85 which permits the levy of a duty of customs. Now, if sub-clause (1) of article 253 remained as part of the Constitution, it is obvious that the Central Government would not be entitled to employ either entry 86 or entry 85 for the purpose of levying an excise or custom on salt. That is quite clear, because clause (1) takes away legislative power with respect to salt duty which was otherwise levied by entry 86, or entry 85. Now, it was represented that while the non-employment of the powers given under entry 86 to levy excise may not cause much difficulty to the country, the embargo, if I may say so, on the utilisation of the powers given under entry 85 to levy a customs duty may cause a great deal of difficulty, because (hat would permit the importation of foreign salt to be brought into India without the Government of India being in a position to apply any kind of legislative remedy to stop such influx of salt which may practically destroy the Indian salt industry. It was, therefore, felt that the better thing would be to remove the embargo and to leave the matter to the future Parliament, to act in accordance with circumstances that might arise at any particular