PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 491
of seats which we have already fixed for representatives from Part C States, how many shall be reserved for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes ? That is the proposition that we are considering at present and not the bigger and the general proposition of the number of seats to be given to a particular State. The limited question is how many seats are to be reserved for the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, and for that my submission is that we have not got to pass any legislation. The directive is given under article 330 (2) and it is only the Election Commissioner’s business to make a little mathematical calculation from time to time (a) to find out how many scheduled castes and tribes there are and (b) on the basis of their number, to determine how many out of the total seats shall be reserved for them. For this, it is not only unnecessary but it is against the specific provisions of the Constitution to have the proposed section 3A. Therefore, it must be deleted. Since this is obviously against the Constitution, I have raised this question. I request that the House may not be pleased to accept sub-clause (1) of the proposed Section 3A but it may be pleased to accept only sub-clause (2) and that too in the form in which my amendment stands.
One word more and I have done. If it be the contention of the Hon. Minister that it is not provided in the Constitution that seats shall be reserved in the House of the People for Part C states, then I am afraid we cannot make any such provision here, because the House of the People must be constituted strictly in accordance with the specific provisions of the Constitution. I take my stand on the plea that it is already provided for in the Constitution, but if the contention of the Hon. Minister is otherwise, then it is a very risky one and in that event we must hold that it is not open to Parliament to say anything with regard to the composition or constitution of the House of the People. It may be a lacuna in the Constitution, or it may have been left over by oversight or deliberately. But if the contention of the Hon. Minister be that there is no provision in the Constitution itself providing for the reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, then we cannot help it. My own view is that provision already exists. Therefore, in order that he may not run such