Coming to amendment 1125 just moved by him, I am inclined to think that the principle embodied in this amendment is a very sound one. I would certainly welcome the proposition that a person on being elected President of the Indian Union must at least declare to Parliament, or to the people and the nation, what interests, and what shares he holds in any enterprise, business or trade in the country. In the last Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly, if I remember aright, this Assembly adopted the Factory Act, and one of the clauses or sections in that Act was to the effect that even the medical officer of a factory, when he is appointed to his post, must declare to the board of directors or the management or the government, what interests, shares or other similar interests he holds in the factory or in any of the allied concerns of that particular undertaking. If we are going to enforce such a thing in the case of a mere petty officer in a factory, it stands to reason that the President of the Indian Union must declare to the nation and to Parliament what interests he holds in any business or trade or enterprise in the country. I recognise and I do admit that the President is not invested with considerable power. But nobody would deny the fact that the President has been invested with considerable influence, and that influence can be abused by a President if he is not of the proper or right type. We have just come from the Jaipur Session of the Congress–at least some of us–where only a few days ago, the Congress passed a resolution on the standards of public conduct. Are we, Sir, here, serious about implementing that resolution or not? Inspite of the subsequent deletion at the instance of Pandit Nehru at the Jaipur Session, it applies to all Congressmen, from top to bottom. And if it applies to all Congressmen, certainly, the code of public conduct that we are going to lay down for Free India, should apply to all, Congressmen or non-Congressmen whenever they hold a post, high or low in the country. Certainly, Sir, the President’s post, the President’s position, is very important and if we are earnest about this resolution about public conduct. I would certainly plead before this House that the President of the Indian Union must publicly before entering his office, tell us, tell Parliament, what interests and what shares he has in any business or other enterprise in the country, lest on any occasion, on any tempting occasion, he might abuse his position for the furtherance of any particular undertaking in which he is more interested.
