Page:White Paper on Indian States (1950).pdf/277

Provided that the Constituent Assembly of the Union formed under Article X of this Covenant may adopt such other name for the Union as it may deem appropriate.

(1) There shall be a Council of Rulers consisting of the Rulers of the Covenanting Salute States and one of the Rulers of the two Covenanting non-salute State, who shall alternately for a period of five years hold the seat assigned to them on this Council:

Provided that no Ruler who is less than 21 years of age shall be a member of the Council.

(2) The Council of Rulers shall exercise such functions as are assigned to it by this Covenant, and such other functions, if any, as may be assigned to it by or under the Constitution of the Union.

(3) The Council of Rulers shall elect at a meeing, one member of the Council to be the President and another to be the Vice-President of the Council; and the President and the Vice-President so elected shall be the Raj Pramukh and the Up-Raj Pramukh respectively of the Union:

Provided that the Ruler of Patiala shall not take part in the voting for the election of the Vice-President.

(4) For the purposes of the election referred to in the preceding paragraph, every member shall have such number of votes as is equal to the number of lakhs in the population of his State as ascertained at the last preceding census (any fraction more than half a lakh being reckoned as one lakh and any other fraction being ignored), provided that every member shall have at least one vote.

(5) A Ruler elected as the President or as a Vice-President of the Council shall be entitled to hold office as such President or Vice-President, as the case may be, for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon the duties of that office.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, the present Rulers of Patiala and Kapurthala shall respectively be the first President; and Vice-President of the Council of Rulers, and shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices on the 15th July, 1948 and the said President and the Vice-President shall be entitled to hold office during their life time.