Consider the following statements with respect to the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of India: A) There were no representatives from Chief Commissioners' provinces. B) It continued as the provisional parliament of India until the first general elections were conducted in 1951-52. C) Mahatma Gandhi and M.A Jinnah were nominated to the Constituent Assembly. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements with respect to the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of India: A) There were no representatives from Chief Commissioners' provinces. B) It continued as the provisional parliament of India until the first general elections were conducted in 1951-52. C) Mahatma Gandhi and M.A Jinnah were nominated to the Constituent Assembly. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Correct Answer Only B
The Correct answer is Only B.
Important Points
Composition of Constituent Assembly-
- On the basis of the framework provided by the Cabinet Mission, a Constituent Assembly was constituted on 9th December 1946.
- As to its composition, members were chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission. The arrangement was:
- 292 members were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies
- 93 members represented the Indian Princely States
- 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners' Provinces. Hence the statement A is not correct.
- The total membership of the Assembly thus was to be 389.
- However, as a result of the partition under the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947, a separate Constituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan and representatives of some Provinces ceased to be members of the Assembly.
- As a result, the membership of the Assembly was reduced to 299.
-
There were around 15 female members in the Constituent Assembly.
Members in Constituent Assembly-
- The prominent ones included- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Hansa Mehta, Durhabai Deshmukh, Dakshayani Velayudhan etc.
- The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place on December 9, 1946, at New Delhi with Dr Sachidanand being elected as the interim President of the Assembly.
-
However, on December 11, 1946, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President and H.C. Mukherjee as the Vice-President of the Constituent Assembly.
- Neither Jinnah nor Mahatma Gandhi was a member of the Constituent Assembly. Hence statement C is not correct.
Works are done by Constituent Assembly
- It accepted and approved India's membership of the British Commonwealth in May 1949.
- It adopted the National anthem and National song on January 24, 1950.
- Assembly approved the draft constitution on 26 November 1949.
- On 26 January 1950, the constitution took effect (commemorated as Republic Day), and the Constituent Assembly became the Provisional Parliament of India (continuing until after the first elections under the new constitution in 1952). Hence, statement B is correct.
মোঃ আরিফুল ইসলাম
Feb 20, 2025