Sir, the amendment which I beg to move is this:
“‘1. That for items (a), (b) and (c) of sub-clause (1) of Clause 14, the following be substituted:
‘(a) The strength of the Council of States shall be so fixed as not to exceed me half of the strength of the House of the People. Not more than 25 members of the Council shall be returned by functional constituencies or panels constituted on the lines of the provisions in section 18(7) of the Irish Constitution of 1937. The balance of the members of the Council shall be returned by constituencies representing Units on a scale to be worked out in detail:
Provided that the total representation of Indian States does not exceed 40 % of this balance.
Explanation.-A Unit means a Province or Indian State which returns in its own individual right members to the Federal Parliament. In the case of Indian States which are grouped together for the purpose of returning representatives to the Council of States a Unit means the group so formed.
(b) The representatives of each Unit in the Council of States shall be elected by the elected members of the legislature of such Unit and in cases where a legislature consists of two Houses by the elected members of the Lower House of that legislature.
(c) The strength of the House of the People shall be so fixed as not to exceed 500. The Units of the Federation, whether Provinces, Indian States or groups of Indian States, shall be divided into constituencies and the number of representatives allotted to each constituency shall be so determined as to ensure that there shall be not less than one representative for every 750,000 of the population and not more than one representative for every 500,000:
Provided that the ratio of the total number of Indian States’ respectively to their total population shall not be in excess of the ratio of the total number of representatives for the Provinces to their total population.’
‘2. That in sub-clause (1) of Clause 14, following new item (e) be inserted:-
‘(e) The fixing of the actual strength of the Council of Sates and of the House of the People the distribution of the strength so fixed amongst the Units of the Federation, the determination of the number, nature and constitution of functional panels or constituencies for the Council of States, the manner in which the smaller State should be grouped into Units for purposes of election to the two House, the principles on which territorial constituencies to the two Houses should be delimited and other ancillary matters shall be referred back to and investigated by the Union constitution Committee. After such investigation, the Union Constitution Committee shall submit to the President of the Constituent Assembly its recommendations as to the provisions relating to these matters which should be inserted in the draft text of the Union Constitution.”‘