My Friend Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari objected to my amendments for transferring certain items of List III. I would draw his attention to para 233 of the report of the Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms where they say:
“We turn now to the problems presented by the Concurrent List. We have already explained our reasons for accepting the principle of a Concurrent List, but the precise definition of the powers to be conferred upon the Centre in relation to the matters contained in it presents a difficult problem. In the first place, it appears to us that while it is necessary for the Centre to possess in respect of the subjects included in the List a power of co-ordinating or unifying regulations, the subjects themselves are essentially provincial in character and will be administered by the Provinces and mainly in accordance with Provincial Policy; that is to say, they have a closer affinity to those included in List II than to the exclusively federal subjects. At the same time, it is axiomatic, that, if the concurrent legislative power of the Centre is to be effective in such circumstances, the normal rule must be that, in case of conflict between a central and a provincial Act in the concurrent field, the former must prevail.”