DRAFT CONSTITUTION 833
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : That is a very fundamental thing. In a sense it is fundamental and in a sense it is not fundamental because we have provided that the Proclamation shall be placed before Parliament. That obligation I have now imposed. Obviously if the Parliament is called and the Proclamation is placed before it, it would be a stupid thing if the people who come into the Parliament do not take positive action and such a Parliament would be an unnecessary thing and not wanted.
Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava : Is it not necessary to say that the law will only be applicable for the period of the emergency and not for shorter period and not for six months after the proclamation ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I am coming to that, but so far as this question is concerned, it is a matter of mere detail whether the Parliament should by an express resolution say that we want the President to withdraw it, or we want the President to continue it, or we want the President to continue it in a modified form. Once Parliament is called and Parliament has become seized of the matter, is it not proper that the matter should be left to Parliament and its consent presumed to have been given unless it has decided otherwise ? Where is the difficulty ? I do not see anything with regard to the amendment.
An Honourable Member : It is one o’clock now.
Mr. Vice-President : We are going to finish this article.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Mr. Gupte has moved an amendment which is an amendment to the amendment of Pandit Bhargava, No. 78. He wants that a definite period should be mentioned, that the Proclamation should be placed before Parliament within two months. Pandit Bhargava’s amendment was one month, I think, if I mistake not and my original proposal is “as soon as possible”. Well I do not know whether anybody wants to make this a matter of conscience and if this matter was not guaranteed, we are going to fast unto death. I think “as soon as possible” may be worked in such a manner that the matter may be placed before Parliament within one month, within two months or may be even a fortnight. It is a most elastic phrase and therefore, I submit that the provision as contained in the draft is the best under the circumstances and I hope the House will accept it.
Mr. Vice-President : I now place the amendments before the House.
[All amendments except that of Dr. Ambedkar were either withdrawn or rejected. Article 280 as amended was added to the Contributed.]