CONGRESS MAY ACT

Southland Times, Issue 24106, 20 April 1940, Page 5

CONGRESS MAY ACT

Threat Of Civil Disobedience CALL ISSUED TO COMMITTEES (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) LONDON, April 18. The Congress Working Committee resolved to call on Congress committees throughout India to prepare for a declaration of civil disobedience. Mr Gandhi participated in the discussion. Motions were before both Houses of Parliament today authorizing the continuance of proclamations vesting in the governors the administration of seven Indian provinces, the representative governments of which resigned in obedience to an instruction from the Working Committee of the Congress Party. The governors of the provinces concerned acquired their powers by proclamation nearly six months ago and by the provisions of the Government of India Act. These proclamations lapse at the end of six months, unless they are continued by a motion of both Houses. In the House of Lords, the Secretary for India (the Marquess of Zetland) expressed regret at the necessity for the motions and briefly reviewed the history of events leading up to

the resignations of the Congress PartyMinisters. He pointed out that a third of the population of British India lived in the provinces of Bengal, Punjab, Sind and Assam, where parliamentary Government was still functioning successfully, but in the other seven provinces the governors had been compelled to take over the administration. INMAN DIFFERENCES . The Marquess of Zetland said that the difficulties between Congress and the" Muslims had not been resolved and until they were there was but little prospect of progress in India towards a solution of the question of Indian government. He again urged meetings between the responsible leaders to endeavour to come to some agreement and said such meetings, although not held by the Congress Party leaders, had the support of such men as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court and the Prime Minister of the Punjab. The demand of Congress, he said, was for the complete independence of India and for the drafting of the future constitution by a constituent assembly elected on a basis of adult suffrage. This was opposed not only by the Muslims but by the. leaders of the scheduled castes and the Liberal National Federation.

“We realize that for varying reasons the three main parties to the controversy—Congress, the All India Muslim League and the princes—entertain objections to the federal provisions of the Act,” he said. “We have said, therefore,

that we are desirious of consulting those interests with a view to ascertaining the lines on which they would wish to see the provisions altered. We made the offer because we accept the reasonableness of the claim that the Indians themselves should play a vital part in devising the sort of constitution they deem best suited to the circumstances of their country; but we also said that we cannot wholly dissociate ourselves from shaping the future constitution of the country, and I should have thought our reasons for saying that would have been both understood and accepted as valid.” After a recapitulation of the reasons why the British Government could not be dissociated from shaping the future Indian constitution, he pointed out that a measure of agreement among the Indian communities was essential if a united India was to become a reality and he appealed to the Congress Party not to close the door upon the unity of India they themselves so passionately desired.