PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 95
My friend, Mr. Krishnamachari, has been writing me on the point which I made that I have spent a great deal of time in studying this matter last night. I am sure about it that my labours would have been considerably shortened if the paper to which he referred just now viz., the Parliamentary paper, had been available to me. As I said, when I went, the Library was closed. I think that either the Library was closed or my friend ran away with the paper and did not allow me an opportunity of studying the paper.
With regard to the comment made by my friend, Mr. Kamath, that I slipped when I said that some portion of the Bill viz., relating to Parliamentary Secretary and so on was a new thing and not contained in the original Ordinance, I do not think there is any ground for him to complain or any necessity for me to apologise. I quite agree that if a Member makes a slip, states wrong facts and these facts have the result of either misdirecting the House or misguiding it, there would undoubtedly be ground for doing so, but it was just a slip. Everybody knows that and I do not think therefore, that that was something which required complaint or comment. I can say that I have a less perfect memory than my friend, Mr. Kamath, has. I do not think that there is any point that has been left out by me without being answered.
Pandit Kunzru : Will the Hon. Minister tell us whether the Ministers of State belong to the Council of Ministers or not and whether they are appointed by the President.
Dr. Ambedkar : My hon. Friend asked me that question before. He knows very well, I think, that the position inside the Ministry is never regulated by law. It is always regulated by convention. It is the privilege of the Prime Minister to select any person to be a member of the Cabinet, although he may not be specifically designated as a Minister. It would be perfectly open to him to say “In my cabinet, I will include only certain Ministers. I will not include other Ministers but I would also include a Secretary of State or a Minister of State”. The internal arrangement of the Cabinet has always been, as the hon. Member knows, a matter of convention. If he wants I can state the position as it exists now but he must