PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 93
Dr. Ambedkar : I do not know whether he had had the time to examine any law made by the Australian Parliament to overcome any difficulties which undoubtedly must arise by reason of that particular section in the Australian Constitution. I have not had the time to examine it, but I just cannot understand how, if the Australian Parliament does permit its Members to hold offices of profit and at the same time sit in Parliament and be Members, they could have done so without some kind of legislation. As I said, I have not had the time to study this, but prima facie it seems to me one of the most impossible propositions that the Australian Parliament should be permitting its Members to sit in the Parliament, vote and take part in the proceedings and at the same time hold offices of profit, without a law such as the one proposed here, but I cannot say.
Now, I come to another point and it is this. My friend, Mr. Kamath, among the various points that he was seeking to make which on account of my limited intelligence I could not unfortunately follow, made one point which, I think, I could follow and which, I think, requires some kind of explanation. He has said that the draft of the Bill brings in also a member of the Government of any State, and his contention was that the draft was clumsy. I think that if he had read the clause carefully and also referred to clause 1 of Article 102, would have seen that the language is not only necessary but perfectly justified. My friend will realise that clause 2 of the Bill deals with two cases, one for being chosen as a Member, and one for being a Member, that is to say, continuing to be a Member. Now, it is proposed that not only a person holding an office of profit under the Government of India should not be disqualified from standing as a Member of Parliament, but similarly a Minister of State or Deputy Minister or Parliamentary Secretary or Parliamentary Under-Secretary who is holding that office in a State, he also, if he wishes to stand in the general election for membership of Parliament, should not be disqualified by reason of the fact that he holds that office in the State. That is the reason why holding an office of profit in a State has also to be brought in because