Mr. Vice-President, we are all in favour of the general principle that so far as possible there should be no distinction within the same State, between one constituency and another, as far as it quota of representation in the local legislature is concerned. But at the same time there are certain special needs of certain areas based upon their social and economic condition excluding communal considerations, religious considerations, any anti-national or unnational considerations, in regard to which certain special provisions have to be made enable the people of the politically and economically backward or under develop areas to stand on their own legs and minimise the distinction between them and the other more advanced areas than if more principle of uniformity were to be accepted. Sir, as Mr. Nagappa has just now told you, the representatives of these two section of the Andra Dasa had met together in 1937 and come to an amicable settlement among themselves. I need not go into details in respect of population or their areas, but it is true that one area known as Circars is very thickly populated and the other area known as Rayalaseema is very thinly populated. The Circars is also economically a little more advanced and much less subject to famines than Rayalseema. Therefore, these peoples have agreed among themselves that from out of the usual quota of representatives that the Circars should be entitled to according to the principle of uniform representation as between one constituency and another, they would like to give away a portion and distribute it between these districts of Rayalaseema as per their own population basis. Now, this is an agreement that was reached when the Provincial Congress Committee was presided over by Dr. Pattabhi who happpens to be the Rashtrapathi today of the Indian National Congress. I happen to be the President of the Provincial Congress Committee today, and I am bound to honour that agreement. It is the universal wish of the Andhras to see that this agreement is put into practice and is honoured so far as practicable under the present conditions, constitutionally and politically. Small variation this side or that side may have to be made and the parties concerned will be quite agreeable to that but this much of weight age we are all agreed to give to Rayalaseema. How it is to be given in terms of this constitution is a ticklish problem. All these years we have been very much worried about it and it is because of this uncertainty the relations between these two areas have come to be a little strained, because it was felt by the representatives of Rayalaseema that quite possibly this House might stand in the way of the implementation of the Sree Bagh Pact. But now that this House has already given its consent to the principle of a certain amount of variation in the total strength of the population as between different constituencies so far as the Central Legislature is concerned varying from 500,000 to 750,000 as between any two constituencies, there has arisen the hope in our hearts that quite possibly the House might be willing to make it possible for us to make a similar distinction between the consistencies of Rayalaseema on the one side and the Circars on the others. It is only reasonable on our part to ask for this much of consideration from this House for three reasons. One is, this distinction has already been agreed to so far as the Central Legislature is concerned. Another is, the people concerned in these two areas are within the Andhra Desa and have already agreed upon it and there has been no dissentient voice at all in regard to this matter and the acceptance of this will only be conducive to the development of better relations between these peoples and greater contacts between them; and after all this House is interested in fostering more and more co-operation between the different sections of people in any one State than in simply sticking to some dull principle of uniformity and then not swerving this side or that side and not making any special provision in favour of any one area within this country. Thirdly, this House also accepted the advisability of making such exceptions when it has made this exception in the case of Assam. Assam also is faced with a similar difficulty so far as the tribal people are concerned. There, in the so-called autonomous tribal areas certain special provisions are made in this constitution in order to protect their interests and in order to safe guard or assure their orderly and speedy progress in the near future.
