Page:White Paper on Indian States (1950).pdf/263

253

common executive, legislature and judiciary, by the name of "the United State of Gwalior, Indore and Malwa" (Madhya-Bharat), hereinafter referred to as "the United State"; and

(b) to include in the United State any other State the Ruler of which agrees, with the approval of the Government of India, to the merger of his State in the United State.

(2) The terms of all the agreements of merger referred to in clause (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be binding on the United State and shall be deemed to be part of this Covenant.

Article III

(1) There shall be a Council of Rulers consisting of the Rulers of the Covenanting Salute States, the Ruler of Kurwai and one Ruler to be elected from among themselves by the Rulers of the Covenanting Non-Salute States other than Kurwai.

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 elect at a meeting, one member of the Council to be the President, another to be the Senior Vice-President and two others to be Junior Vice-Presidents of the Council; and the President so elected shall be the Raj Pramukh of the United State:

Provided that the Rulers of the Covenanting Major States shall not take part in the voting for the election of either Junior Vice-President.

(3) For the purposes of the elections 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.

(4) 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.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding paragraphs of this Article the present Rulers of Gwalior, Indore, Dhar and Khilchipur shall respectively be the first President, Senior Vice-President and Junior Vice-Presidents of the Council of Rulers, and shall enter upon the