In the Constituent Assembly, one member most eloquently defended the…

In the Constituent Assembly, one member most eloquently defended the rights of the states, and many provincial members echoed his fears. Identify him and what those members fought hard for.

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → K. Santhanam - fewer items on the Concurrent and Union lists

Option (1) Gopalaswami Ayyangar - more items moved to the Concurrent list — Incorrect. Ayyangar wanted a strong Centre, and the provinces wanted fewer Concurrent items.

Option (2) K. Santhanam - more items moved to the Concurrent list — Incorrect. Santhanam is right, but the provinces already found more items on the Concurrent list than they wanted.

Option (3) Gopalaswami Ayyangar - fewer items on the Concurrent and Union lists — Incorrect. Ayyangar declared the Centre should be made as strong as possible.

Option (4) K. Santhanam - fewer items on the Concurrent and Union lists — Correct. K. Santhanam from Madras led the case for the states. Members who shared his fears fought for fewer items on the Concurrent and Union lists.

NCERT (2026-27): “4.1 “The centre is likely to break”
The rights of the states were most eloquently defended by K. Santhanam from Madras. A reallocation of powers was necessary, he felt, to strengthen not only the states but also the Centre. “There is almost an obsession that by adding all kinds of powers to the Centre we can make it strong.” This was a misconception, said Santhanam. If the Centre was overburdened with responsibilities, it could not function effectively. By relieving it of some of its functions, and transferring them to the states, the Centre could, in fact, be made stronger.”

“Many others from the provinces echoed the same fears. They fought hard for fewer items to be put on the Concurrent and Union lists. A member from Orissa warned that “the Centre is likely to break” since powers had been excessively centralised under the Constitution.”