As the House is aware, when the States entered the Constituent Assembly of India, it was thought that the Constitution of the States would not form part of the Constitution of India. It was also understood that unlike the Provinces the accession of the States to the Indian Union would not be automatic but would be by means of some process of ratification of the Constitution. In the context of those commitments and the conditions then obtaining certain provisions were incorporated in the Draft Constitution, which placed the States in certain important respects on a footing different from that of the Provinces.
