588 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (No. 2) —contd.
*Clause 24. —( Presiding officer for polling stations )
Mr. Speaker : Amendment moved :
In sub-clause (1) of clause 24, for the words “in or about the election” substitute the words “in the election in question”.
The Minister of Law (Dr. Ambedkar) : I do not accept it.
Mr. Speaker : Shall I put to vote both the amendments Nos. 299 and 300 ?
Shri Naziruddin Ahmad : I should like amendment No
299 alone to be put to vote. If that is rejected, amendment No. 300 does not arise.
Shri T. T. Krishnamachari (Madras) : May I ask the Hon. Law Minister to explain what he means by the words ‘about the election’ in the amendment ?
Dr. Ambedkar : The answer is simple. The word ‘election’ may be used in a narrower sense, that is to say the act of election, when polling takes place. On the other hand an election may have a larger context, of other acts relating to an election, that is to say other than polling. This is the reason why the words are there. They are exactly the words from the English statutes.
Prof. Ranga (Madras) : May I ask for an elucidation ? There are a lot of people who are Presidents and VicePresidents of Local Boards and also Ministers and Deputy Ministers. They have a number of these subordinates in the constituencies in which they stand as candidates. Would it be open to a Returning Officer to appoint such of the employees who are directly under their control as Polling Officers according to this provision ?
Dr. Ambedkar : I do not think any difficulty arises so far as this particular clause is concerned. All that it says is that any person who is employed by the candidate in or about the
*P. D., Vol. 12, Part XII, 19th May 1951, pp. 9098-9105.