This however he said, could not be achieved overnight but within a stipulated period. He expressed his determination to solve unemployment problem. “We will not allow people to die of starvation”, he added.
Sheikh Mujib said that although East Pakistan earn bulk of foreign exchange after independence 80 per cent of the foreign exchange was spent in West Pakistan. He said that it was through deliberate measures, the flourishing hand loom industry of Bangla Desh had to face extinction resulting in 20 lakh persons un-employment to ensure protected market for the finished goods of West Pakistani mills. In i/ic name of protection, the people of Bangla Desh had to purchase cloth at a price six times higher than that of the imported cloth from Japan and other countries.
He said that jute, the backbone of the economy of the Bangla Desh, had to loose export market through a deliberate defective policy. Tea was no more exported from East Pakistan as it finds its way to Middle Eastern countries through backdoor. He said that tobacco, another cash crop of the Province was facing crisis. He added that by imposing duty on salt manufactures, thousands of people had been rendered jobless to the benefit of salt producers of West Pakistan.
Nationalisation.
Sheikh Mujib once again declared that banks and insurance companies would be nationalised for the good of the poor people. He said that 22 families had their firm grip and monopoly over their banks, opening letter of credit on telephone, whereas the middle class traders were denied of any such benefit from the banks. Those capitalists used to have their deposits in West Pakistan and draw overdraft in East Pakistan.
Turning to the capitalists, he said that they came to Bangla Desh with meager capital and turned into millionaires within this period. How they have amassed such fantastic assets, he asked and said that it was all through exploitation as the money had not fallen from the heaven.
Sheikh Mujib said that whenever poor workers raised their demands for pay increase, they were beaten in the name of maintenance of law and order.
Imbalance.
Speaking about the economic and other imbalance between the two Wing's the Awami League Chief said that there were only 600 beds in hospitals in East Pakistan having 56 per cent country's population whereas there were 26,000 beds in West Pakistan. Who is responsible for such state of affairs, he asked.
The Central Government, he said, should not have allowed such state of things to take place.
Sheikh Mujib said that people from Bangla Desh had been going to West Pakistan during all these 23 years. He said that one had to go to Karachi to obtain a permit for even simple matters relating to business and for jobs. The Awami League Chief said that he himself had to stay for three months in Karachi for Constituent Assembly.
