124 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE BILL —contd.
- The Minister of State for Transport and Railways (Shri Santhanam): I beg to move:
“That the Bill to provide for the allocation of seats in, and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of elections to, the House of the People and the Legislatures of States, the qualifications of voters at such elections, the preparation of electoral rolls, and matters connected therewith, be taken into consideration.”
I do not propose to speak at this stage. By the end of the discussion I expect the Minister in charge will be present and he will then reply. If he is not present then I shall reply to the debate.
Mr. Deputy Speaker : Motion moved.
Shri Bharati (Madras) : This is a very important Bill and may I suggest that it would help the discussion to a very great extent if the Hon. Minister in charge of the Bill elucidated certain points which are very necessary, so that we may not traverse unnecessary ground. The Hon. Minister, Dr. Ambedkar, has just come to the House. It was only because he was not here that Hon. Mr. Santhanam made the formal motion. If Dr. Ambedkar had been here he would certainly have made a very useful speech. I am prepared to speak after the Hon. Dr. Ambedkar has sopken. However, I leave it to the House.
The Minister of Law (Dr. Ambedkar): Sir, at the outset I must apologise to the House for my delay in reaching the House. I was told that the Insurance Bill would not be finished before 4-30 p.m. and that a message would be sent to me in my room ...........................
Shri Kamath (Madhya Pradesh) : There are always surprises in life.
Dr. Ambedkar : With regard to this Bill it is obvious that the Bill deals with four questions. Firstly, it deals with the allocation of seats for the House of the People among the different States. Secondly, it deals with the fixing of the total seats for the State Legislative Assembly. Thirdly, it deals with
*P.D., Vol. 4, Part II, 18th April 1950, pp. 3000-6.