§ Mr. LEACH(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can give any further information in regard to the use of motor cars by Mr. Gandhi at Simla?
§ Mr. BENNIn replying to questions on the 18th May as to the use of motor cars by Mr. Gandhi at Simla, I said that I left the matter to the discretion of the authorities in India. Information has since been furnished to me by the Viceroy which shows wide divergence between the facts and the statements in the questions put to me. Mr. Gandhi neither asked for nor received any special concession. The local authorities merely extended him the courtesy of permitting him to proceed a short distance to his house in a car in which he had already driven fifty miles. The grant of such permission is not unusual, and in fact two days before the questions were asked had been accorded to a marriage party with four motor cars. I am assured that accurate information was easily available on the spot, and hon. Members will no doubt share my regret and surprise that a matter of so little intrinsic importance should have become the occasion of serious and harmful misunderstanding.
§ Mr. LEACHWill the right hon. Gentleman take steps to see to it that the hon. Members who spread this false information will be called upon to apologise to Mr. Gandhi?
§ Mr. HANNONAs one of the Members who put a question on this subject to my right hon. Friend the other day, may I ask if he is aware that the information was cabled to our leading newspapers from responsible correspondents in India?
§ Mr. BENNI would remind the hon. Member that hon. Members who put questions are supposed to assure themselves of the accuracy of the facts on which they are based. Information is made freely and easily available at Simla and was available on this particular occasion.
§ Mr. HANNONIf an hon. Member of this House puts a question on the Order Paper which takes note of communications sent to the "Times" newspaper from its correspondent in India, is not that sufficient ground for putting the question?
§ Mr. SPEAKERIs the hon. Gentleman's question addressed to me or to the Secretary of State?
§ Mr. HANNONWith respect, Sir, I would ask you what is to guide a Member in putting questions on the Paper to a Member of the Government affecting an incident that took place in a country overseas if we cannot depend on what we see in the "Times" from responsible correspondents?
§ Mr. SPEAKERI should take all these things with a grain of salt.