পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বাদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৮৮৭

এই পাতাটির মুদ্রণ সংশোধন করা প্রয়োজন।

brと心 বাংরাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ দ্বাদশ খন্ড the process of democratic emergence upon which the country, it appeared, had embarked after the last elections, which gave such outstanding victory to the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been completely negative by the statement that President Yahya Khan has made. The entire philosophy behind the election to the Constituent Assembly was that the elected representatives will have the right to frame their Constitution. Now, that is taken away from them. Then, again. what is most surprising is that the military regime will decide as to who loses the elective post. It is most surprising that the administration has arrogated to themselves the right to declare that a particular party or a particular individual has indulged in such activity which in their judgment has created a situation where the party would lose its recognition or the elected member will lose his seat. There cannot be any more cruel joke to their profession of still reverting to a democratic way of life if this power is sought to be assumed, as President Yahya Khan has tried to assume, by marketing the statement that the administration will decide as to who will remain a member or who will lose his membership because. They say, if any party is guilty of what they describe as indulging secessionist activity. Then they will decide as to whether they still retain the right to be the members of the National Assembly. This is, to say the least, the complete negation of the democratic idea. There is another highly unsatisfactory feature of the statement according to which it is said that regional parties as such may be called upon not to participate in the process of Constitution making or even in the matter of political functioning unless they are patties which have got branches all over the country. This is something which, I think, cuts at the root of any democratic process. There are far-reaching implications of this not only for Bangladesh but even for different constituents in West Pakistan itself. This might mean that a party, for instance, consisting of Baluchis to respond to the aspirations of Balushi people or a party which might try to project the aspirations of the people of North West Frontier Province can also, on this basis, be said to be not national parties but regional parties which can be suppressed and their political activities curbed by depriving them of the right to contest National Assembly seats. These are some of the features which are so patently objectionable judged by the standards of democratic ideals that any hope still left that there could be a possibility of the restoration of democratic rights of the people which, according to us, means entrusting the responsibility of administration to the elected representatives led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been dashed to the ground. SHRIS. M. BANERJEE: What are you going to do now? SHRI INDRAJIT GUPTA: Have all your hopes gone now? Have you still any hope of a political solution? SHRI SWARAN SINGH: I never entertain the type of hope which he wants me to say that I have got them. SHRIINDRAJ IT GUPTA: You tell us what are your hopes. SHRI SWARAN SINGH: We have to realize the implications of it. This means that this will be a long fierce struggle in which the people of Bangladesh will have to carryon