714 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Shri Sidhva: Sir, from the speech of the Hon. Minister in moving this Bill the doubts in the minds of hon. Members have not been removed. Rather, they have increased after the latter portion of his speech. He said that if a Member has drawn more than what the Finance Ministry has settled, it is a case for disqualification. The question may not be serious for Dr. Ambedkar. He is a Minister and has not served on any committe. But nearly 50 per cent. of the Members of this House have been serving on several committees. They were not “induced” to serve on them as he stated. They were requested to serve on them. They were obliged to serve on . them. They never knew that this would subject them to any disqualification. Therefore, this matter requires serious consideration and I would say more sympathetic consideration at the hands of Government. I have given notice of an amendment which leaves no doubt about this matter. I want that all the committees on which the Members were asked to serve should be incorporated in this Bill. Dr. Ambedkar has expounded his own viewpoint that those who drew fees as settled by the Finance Ministry will not be disqualified. But we do not know what will be the interpretation of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. No doubt, Dr. Ambedkar is one of the legal luminaries. He was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution and yet the Supreme Court and the High Courts have interpreted the various Articles of the Constitution differently from what he had told us in the Constituent Assembly. Therefore, I am not going to accept his interpretation. His interpretation is of no value to us. He must not give us his conjectures. If he wants the Members to remain in this House, if he wants them to contest the elections, let him be honest about it and say that serving on these committees will not disqualify them. According to his own statement, those who receive more than the prescribed rates of payment should make some statement in the nomination paper and then Government will consider his case. Was that the idea when these Members were requested—I repeat, they were requested not induced—to serve on these committees ? Had they known that they would incur any disqualification by serving on these committees, they would not have served on them.