960 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
*Mr. President: Dr. Ambedkar, do you wish to say anything? I do not think there is anything in this to discuss.
The honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, with regard to my Friend Mr. Chaliha’s amendment No. 113, I really do not understand what it means. It says: “The Governor shall make laws and regulations and entrust the District Council and Regional Councils with such powers as the State legislature may approve.” I cannot understand what it means. I am therefore unable to say that I accept it.
With regard to my amendment and the amendment moved by my honourable Friend Mr. Rohini Kumar Chaudhari, there is hardly any difference except a failure to understand on the part of my honourable Friend as to what the word ‘Governor’ means. He says that the laws shall be approved by the legislature of Assams. According to my amendment, the laws will be approved by the Governor as advised by the Ministry of Assam, because in all this scheme we are dropping the words ‘in his discretion’. Wherever the word Governor occurs, it means Governor acting on the advice of the Ministry. I should like to ask him whether he really thinks there is very serious difference between a law being approved by the Governor acting on the advice of the Ministry and a law being approved by the legislature of Assam itself. I think my scheme is much more consistent with the originals of the scheme, namely, that the tribal people themselves should have a certain inherent right given by the constitution to make laws in certain respects. That being so, my paragraph (3) is much more consistent with the scheme and gives the Assam Ministry some power to advice the Governor as to whether he should accept or not accept any law. The intervention of the legislature is quite unnecessary.
Shri Rohini Kumar Chaudhari : If I have understood the Honourable Dr. Ambedkar aright, I would be prepared to withdraw my amendment. I mean, if the Governor is to be advised by the Ministry and the Ministry takes the opinion of the legislature, then, I have no objection. If the advice of the Ministry means that the Ministry will take no such action until the house has had an opportunity of discussing it, then, I think it is the same thing which I want and which Dr. Ambedkar wants. In that case, I shall withdraw.
The Honourable dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I think he is under standing more than what I have said. I am not prepared to give him that assurance at all.
*CAD, Vol. IX, 6th September 1949, p. 1031.