Mr. President, Sir the item here has really raised a controversy which I thought would not be raised at all; but on the amendment standing in the name of Sir V. T. Krishnamachari being moved and another amendment in the name of Mr. Naziruddin Ahmed also, being moved, the controversy has assumed a form in which I find that certain fundamental aspects of this question are being obscured. Let us see what this item calls upon this House to do. It relates to participation in international conferences. So far as participation is concerned, I believe nobody seems to take any exception that it should be the right of the Central Government or the Dominion Government to send representatives to participate in these Conferences in the name of India. The real difficulty comes in regard to implementing those decisions. Now, as has been very rightly pointed out by my friend Sir B. L. Mitter, these decisions will be arrived at after consultation and deliberation at the international conferences. They will embody decisions on matters not taken in the interest of any particular part of his country or that country, but from the broader point of view of international usefulness and international benefit. The question is, when decisions of that nature involving international considerations are, to be implemented, although they might be related to matters within the provincial sphere, are those decisions not fit subjects to be considered by the Central or Union Government ? Units are Intended to govern their territory in regard to certain matters purely from the interest of the persons living within the territory of the unit. Their view is therefore necessarily limited to a territorial nature, bounded by the geographical limits within which the units have to carry on their administration. but here there are decisions taken in which the world view is taken and therefore in the carrying out of those decisions the Central Government will be in a better position to see whether those decisions should be implemented or not, and even in the former case, what is the proper way to implement them so as to justify India before the civilised world. That is the. stand point from which these decisions will have to be looked at. This is not possible, in my opinion in the very nature of things if these matters are left to be decided by Provinces or units. It is this body the Central Legislature, I mean, which is in a position to take a broader and international view and therefore the authority for implementing these decisions must also vest in it. I think it is obvious to everybody that if India to stand as a whole, before the whole world, it is the Central Legislature only which can represent India before the world and it must be responsible for implementing those decisions also. In all affairs outside India, the authority is exclusively left to the control and administration of the Central Government and I submit this is a matter of that nature, i.e., falling within the category of external affairs. International conventions are external considerations which affect the affairs inside the country. Therefore, in the natural course of thinks this should be a matter for the Central Government to decide and I am sure that Sir Krishnamachari will see that nothing is lost if he does not press his amendment and let the item stand as it is. I therefore oppose the amendment.
