PARTY DEADLOCK

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20088, 7 November 1939, Page 14

PARTY DEADLOCK

INDIAN FACTIONS HINDUS AND MOSLEMS CABINET SEATS REJECTED VICEROY’S NEGOTIATIONS CONGRESS ATTITUDE (Klee. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Nov. 7. 9 a.m.) LONDON, Nov. (i. The Delhi correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says that the negotiations of the Viceroy, tile Marquess of Linlithgow, to reach an agreement with the Indian Congress Party have readied e. deadlock. The correspondence between the Viceroy and the Indian leaders reveals that the main obstacle is the failure of the predominantly Hindu Congress Party and the Moslem League to settle the differences.

Lord Linlithgow sent a letter to Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Jinnah offering' Cabinet seats to the Congress Party and the Moslem League representatives, but the replies were in the negative. Together with Lord Linlithgow's statement is issued the text of the letter from the Viceroy to the Congress Party and Moslem leaders and the replies to it.

The Viceroy’s letter sets out fully the concrete proposals, which appear in a more summarised form in the statement, together with extracts from his statement of October 18.

The following extracts from the leticr perhaps amplify the summary to show the full extent of the .Viceroy’s proposals in regard to the proposition of expansion of the GovernorGeneral’s Council: Executive Council

"You would enter upon a discussion between vourseives with a view to discovering whether you could reach a basis of agreement between yourselves in the provincial field, consequent on which you could let me have proposals which would result in the representatives of the two organisations immediately participating in the central Government as members of my Executive Council." "Thirdly, that the position of anyone appointed to the Executive Council as a member of a political party would be identical in privilege and obligation with that of existing members.

“Fourthly, that the arrangement would be within the general scheme of the existing law. It would be admittedly and inevitably a makeshift arrangement for the duration ot the campaign.” The reply from the Congress Party leaders states: “We find ourselves unable to vary the answers we gave during the interview. At the outset, we would like to say that both Mr. Gandhi and I missed at the interview any reference to the moral issue raised by the Congress Party about the clarification of the war aims, without which it was impossible for the Congress Party to consider a subsidiary proposal. Crisis Result of War

"The present crisis has arisen owing to the outbreak of war in Europe, and the action of the British Government in declaring India a belligerent country without the consent of the Indian people. The crisis is entirely political and is not related to the communal issue of India.

"It raised a vital question In regard to the war aims of the British Government. and tlie position ot India in relation to them." The letter then speaks of the working committee's statement of September 14 and the endorsements thereof by the All-India Congress committee oil October 10 and recites, in a summary, the demands therein contained, especially that the “Indian people must have the right of self-determina-tion by forming their own constitution through a constituent assembly,” and that "Indian freedom must be based on democracy and unity ana lull recognition and protection of the rights of minorities.” The letter then sets out the consideration and refusal of the Viceroy’s statement and the decision to call on the Congress Party Ministries to resign. Alain Issue Clouded Alter stating that the declarations made b.v the British Parliament made

an essential difference in the Britishdeclared policy, the letter continued:

“l't has clouded the main issue. It has been repeatedly said on behalf of the Congress Party that it has an earnest desire to settle ah points of communal controversy by agreement and we propose to continue efforts to this end.

"We would point out that this question lias not come in the way of the declaration of freedom suggested above. Sucli a declaration applies to the whole of India and not to a particular community and the consequent assembly, by which will be framed the constitution, will be formed on the widest possible basis of franchise and by agreement in accord with communal representation. "We all agreed that there must be full protection of minority rights and interests, and this protection should be by agreement between the parties concerned. The British Government, in taking or sharing the burden, in our opinion, made a settlement of the question much more difficult. Protection of Minorities "It should allay all real anxiety on tlie part of the British Government when Congress Party declares that it contemplates no constitution which does not carry’ protection of real minorities to their satisfaction. "It seems to us that a clear declaration of the kind suggested is an essential preliminary to any further consideration ot the matter. We" should like to add that recent developments in the European war have made it all the more necessary for a clear enunciation of war aims. If a satisfactory declaration is made, discussion of the proposal made by Your Excellency will be appropriate and useful, and we will be glad to discuss it.” The reply of Mr. .linnah, the Moslem leader, after setting out the proposals made at the interview on November 1 and recapitulated in the Viceroy’s Tetter, states: "In consequence, I met the leaders of the Congress Party and was informed by them finally that they had come to the conclusion they could not discuss any question in regard to the matters referred to in your letter of November 2 relating to the provincial field or 'at the camp’ until the British Government complied with the demand embodied in the resolution of the allIndia Congress Committee. Hence these two questions were not further discussed."