পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (প্রথম খণ্ড).pdf/৪৯২

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বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ প্রথম খণ্ড
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injustice. I do not know what novel thing, what miracle this National Finance commission will do............

 Sir, you will find that one very important thing which actually determines the character of autonomy for province is the election. The election of the Provincial Assemblies, which was in the Provincial Lists, has now been taken away in the new. scheme of things. That has actually crippled any amount of autonomy that East Bengal enjoyed before this. It is not saying that we have given you so many subjects, twenty or thirty subjects. All the subjects are there, but that does not make the country autonomous; in fact, the principle of democracy has been taken away-a very important thing, namely, the election-because judging from the things that are going on in the country, it is a party government which is running the country's administration. East Bengal may have a Government of one Party opposed to a party which is in power in the Central Government. Therefore, it is necessary that the election of the Provincial Legislature must be under the control of the Provincial Government and not under the control of the Central Government here, but it has been taken away, so that autonomy, even if it is given, or even if it were there, has been completely, in a way, taken away by that provision.

 Under item 23 of the Government of India Act, the Provincial List contained oilfields, which could give some amount of revenue to a unit, that too has been taken away very carefully, because there is a chance of discovery. So the province has been made poorer. A number of subjects have been given, but what of that. For instance, Railways has been given in the Provincial List, which is a great hoax that has been committed. What do you find in the Constitution itself? In the body of the Constitution it is not in the Provincial List; it is given to the Central Authority and that Authority has to decide whether it should be given or not. It may not be under the control of the Provincial Government. Sir, this is the Provincial List, showing a number of subjects. I cannot understand the subjects. I cannot understand what the estate duty in respect of agricultural land is. I cannot understand Capitation taxes. Lotteries, betting and gambling, fisheries, treasure trove, electricity, gas and gas works, professions, inns and inn-keepers, liquor and a number of other subjects are there to show that autonomy has been granted by making these provisions in the Provincial List, but Provincial autonomy is not there. As I told you, the root of the Provincial Autonomy has been cut down however you may try to pour water over it. This will not give provincial autonomy.

Extracts from the Speech of Mr. H. S. Suhrawardy as Leader of the

Opposition on “The 1956 Constitution".

31st January, 1956

 ..Sir, I had recently been to East Bengal for the purpose of assessing for myself whether the opposition that we heard in the papers and voiced on the floor of this House was a mere paper opposition or was it really grounded in the will of the people. I have, Sir, no hesitation in stating that people of Bengal are greatly perturbed.

 The people in East Bengal have no confidence in the Ministry here or in the Constitution prepared by them and they desire that adequate provision should be made in