Before the elections of the Speaker I said: "Countless farmers from various places were coming to the legislative assembly premises to congratulate us. Unfortunately, the police stopped them at Howrah and Sealdah. The Chief Minister should make a statement on why the police did this?"

We were told that the Police has stopped the farmers rally at Esplanade East near Dacres Lane a place which is now known as Sidu Kanu Dahar. At that the we had not known about the use of tear gas and lathi charge. That gathering had been organised by the Bengal Provincial Krishak Sabha, The Chief Minister’s statement was not at all satisfactory. I walked all the way to Esplanade East. What I say stunned me. The police was arbitrarily using lathi and teargas on thousands of farmers. That was my first experience of what was teargas would like.. I had no idea and my eyes and entire face started burning. I went to Writers Building wiping my face all the way with my handkerchief. Both Chief Minister and Kalibabu were there.

I questioned Prafulla Babu as to why the peaceful gathering was attacked by the police. I also asked them to be present and explain the situation to the fathring. Prafuill babu was a student of chemistry. He gave me a lecture as to how teargas was made.

He also told me that He has to go to Dum Dum and that he can not make it possible to come to Esplanade and he asked Kali Babu to go instead, We moved towards Esplanade in Kalibabu’s car. The atmosphere we tense and everybody around jeered at Kalibabu and rediculed him. I then asked him to return since I thought that the situation may go out of hand. Kalibabu returned. I spoke to the fathering in groups. After sometime they also left. I returned to our Dacres Lane party office, reported the incident and returned home.

I trued to move an adjournment motion on the incident. But could not do so because of lack of quoram.

It was a that on the very first day of assembly started that police attached farmers who came to congratulate the government got lathi-charge and tear-gas in return.

In Dr. Ghosh’s chief ministership, the first Black Law that was noticed was that the West Bengal Powers Act which was later rechristened the West Bengal Security Act. Incidently even during the British rule, the Surawardy Government had implemented the Special Powers Ordinance. The purpose behind the law had been to curb the communal powers. But the actual was to subvert the various opposition political parties to put them behind bars and to take away the democratic rights of the people in the name of security. What Shrawardy did in 1946, Dr Ghosh did on 27th November 1947 in the shape of a Bill. This Bill was sent to the Select Committee for consideration.

I opposed this Bill. On 27th November, I told the Assembly that either the Bill should be withdrawn, or our public opinion should be sought. I want "This draconian Bill gives unlimited power to the bureaucracy and the police to check public agitation’s. The Suhrawary Government had also used this Ordinance for the same purpose. The ordinance has stipulated that if the Police feels that if a person or party was acting against the interest of the State’s security that they can be arrested and unlimited powers in the hands of the police in the act.

The Congress Government had also used this ordinance on 8th December 1947. Dr. Ghosh in answer to my query said "Under the ordinance of 1944 Sec, (8) Somendra Nath Tagore had been arrested without trial and he himself has ordered this". We questioned as to what the charges against them were. The Chief Minister said that according to information with the Government, Tagore and his followers were upset with the security of the State. He also said that this ordinance is in use in various districts and many arrests have already been made or being made. It was this ordinance that the Gosh Government brought forward as a Bill, Despite protests made from Muslim League, Abdul Hassan and others the Bill was sent to the Select Committee. Interestingly Suhrawardy had used the same ordinance the crush the Tebagha movement. The new Bill gave rise to a state wide agitation and all party central team to protect the rights of the citizens we set up by our party. Those who took active part were Sarat Chandra Basu the then Bengal Provincial Marinal Kanti Bose, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, Congress leader Khitish Prasad Chatterjee and the leadership of our party.

The meetings of these committee were held regularly at either at the house of Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee or Sarat Chand Bose. Meetings and processions were held throughout the city. I still remember it was held at Shradhananda Park. This meeting was presided by .........and the speakers were ........and others. Perhaps this was the first Black Law initiated in the Independent India. The Congress Government panicked and started acting fearsly to protect the law.

10th December 1947 still remain a Black day in West Bengal’s his troy. A huge -gather including students had gathered outside the legislative assembly asking for withdrawal of the Bill. Police first used lathis and then used teargas, Finally with no way out they resorted to unprovoked firing. A WAC cadet Sisir Mandal died in the firing Manu were hurt in the lathi charge. This was the first police firing on a fathering by the first Congress government in West Bengal in Independent India and the first murder was of Mandal. I was the eye witness. I find the gate on the morning of 10th December.. A student friend of the High Court watched hell that was being established.

The police was carrying not only lathis but revolvers and other lethal weapons. I saw for myself and the gathering faced the lathi charge. I went upto first floor and watched from there. There was tear gas. The mounted police was chasing the people. Two young girls were hurt so were some boys. Not a single minister could be seen around. Everybody knew that it were they who had egged on the police. The situation continued to deteriote. Continuously the people got provoked and started brick batting the police. The police retaliated in the same fashion. I repeat, I was eye witness to this. The people .......helper skeletal. The police then went to a shooting spree. There still remains no doubt in me that this was the unprovoked firing and we all saw how were hurt and how.

One barrister was coming down from the Solicitor’s chamber. He was fired at too.

Mondal was sitting in his WAC car. The police murdered him. incidentally Mondal was sitting in an ambulance, the barbaric police did not even .....the Red Cross. The area was tense till the evening. Later on peaceful protest continued in front of the assembly.

We decided to raise this issue of police atrocities inside the Legislative Assembly. The next day we moved an adjournment motion and the speaker allowed nobody opposed the motion. The debate started after the afternoon recess. However a Congress member Nihanredu Dutta Mazumdar suddenly opposed it and made a total anti communist out of character speech. Dissidents have always taken this sort of an extreme attitude. Abdul Hassan the Muslim League supported my motion and made a forceful speech. The Chief Minister Dr. Ghoush in answer said that such a law was needed to check violence of any kind. Most probably he might have been referring, likes of Sarat Chandra Bose,

There was no votes on the motion. Since the allotted time period of two hours was over.

In December 1947 after an acrimonus debate in the assembly, the bill was passed and made into a law. It was valid till March 1967. When the United Front Government came to power this law was scrapped. When Suhrawardy has introduced this ordinance we were told that it was necessary to bring down the incidents of goondaism and check rioters. However while some goonds were arrested the main idea behind the ordinary the ordinance to stem the agitation by labours, farmers and the middle class workers. The Tebagha movement suffered some because of this ordinance and many of the movement leaders were behind jail which cried hoarse against this. Many Congress as well as Muslim League workers also joined us in ......... against this black law. In the face of this Suhrawady did not have the guts to transform the bill when the ordinance had not withdrawn it either,

Strangely the very same Congress leaders who had agitated against Suhrawardy government was trying to pass on Dr Ghosh’s bill as valid in three months after Dr Ghosh took over this ordinary was used against many of us as well as other political leaders. Dr Ghosh had falsely promised that the ordnance would not be used against justified labour movement. This ordinance was used to arrest Debnath Das (INA) B V Maj. Satya Gupta S Juber and Dwarka Nath Mitra and labour leader Manoranjan Hazra and led an agitation at Brooke Bond factory and Sree Durga Cotton Mill. They were arrested and residences were raided without any warrants. Ladies of the households were also harassed by the police, Hundreds of those goondas who have been arrested by the Suhrawardy government were released by the Congress leadership. The Congress Party Muslim League a part of the Congress and eminent citizens were against the bill. On 27th November 1947 it was introduced in the assembly. Both of us Communist MLAs were left out when Select Committee through the 11 member list proposed by the opposition Muslim Leae member Md Mkhda Buix had my name in it. Naturally the Government did Like this list.

Names that Dr Ghosh proposed had 8 Congress members, one Anglo-Indian and 2 Muslim League nominees. After discussions with the party membersip, I proposed a movement saying that the Bill should be circulated for public opinion on 5th January 1948, despite major opposition from us the Congress government proposed the Bill for consideration and adoption in the Assembly.

Widespread movement throughout not only in Calcutta but entire West Bengal, processions and rallies were routine. Total 92,000 members struck work on the day the Bill came up for discussion. The strike was total in Budrawn and many Congress members and workers also participated. The Congress leadership wanted the strike to fail and it even brought goondas to foil it. Revolvers, Knives and lathis were used freely against the peaceful processions. The Congress volunteers were held by the police everywhere. On the other hand some of our Union offices were subject to arson. According to my estimate more than a lack of farmers and students participate against the bill. In fact the discussions were on in the assembly protest meetings and rallies continued outside. We are proud that the Communist party played a significant role in opposing that bill. The party had asked me to introduce all the amendments to the various clauses of the Bill in the assembly. I proposed many amendments and spoke for them. I made almost 60 speeches and asked fox voting on atlast 60 amendments. There were some amendments against Ratanlal Brahman too. The members of the Muslim League supported many of my proposals did not kept silent too, but on the -whole they opposed the Bill. There were many cases when only two votes were cast on my amendments; Brahmans and mine. Discussions on the bill began on 14th January ending 15th January. On that day the Bill became law with voting pattern of 46-12 The Congress Government had hoped that they would get the bill passed in two days but actually it took 10 full days.

Most to the Congress members did not participate in the debate except.....·Dutta Mazumdar. Nobodyelse spew venom against the Communist Party.

What Dutta Mazumdar had to say went something like this: "The Communist Party were given the anrchy and such a law was necessary to counter that. The Congress member Binod Kumar Sinha did not utter a single word against the Communist. In fact he admitted that the Bill would do more harm than good. But that it was a necessity in the given situation. He did not explain what this abnormal situation could be" On the last day of the debate, Ratanlal Brahman spoke that the Bill was totally against the labour force.

Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel had come to Calcutta a few days before the debate on the Bill started. He was brought to stem the dissidents among some Congress workers against the Bill. Patel addressed many meetings in the city and elsewhere.

The Congress Government could not face the bill down West Bengal’s throat. The Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehtu had said that in places like U.P. and Bombay this sort of law was already enforced.

I have told the assembly "Our party, all the left and democratic forces are against this Bill and I speak for these forces. I am given to understand that Sardar Patel has been brought in to throttle the voices of those dissident forces within the Congress who are against this Bill" It is to the credit of Bengal that this Bill was not passed without protest. Bengal had a pioneer. It was we leftists who were trying to keep the toruch alight/

On the last day of the debate I categorically said the rights of the freedom loving citizens have been murdered today because the Congress Government has stopped advertisements to the Bengal Provincial Committee daily mouthpiece Swadhinata because it has criticised the policies. I added that our struggle against the Black Laws has not ended and that this experience and suffering has only helped to inspirit the people.

Barristers like Bhupesh Gupta and others helped me and others in organising the amendment proposal on the Bill. In fact Bhupesh helped me out on my speeches and made out the various points. That our warnings and apprehensions about the Bill came true was proved later. Between 1948 and 1956 thousands of workers were arrested in the same timn.

After the Bill was passed the Assembly went into recess indefinitely. Soon after this Dr Ghosh’s Government was ousted and Dr B C Roy became the new Chief Minister. The new Home Minister was Kiran Shankar Roy and Finance Portfolio is handled by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar. A new chapter has come in West Bengal’s political history. I was later told that it was Gandhi’s wish that Dr Roy become the new Chief Minister and Dr Ghosh had to go. In February 19481 began the Budget session. I do not remember the exact date. One morning on only Dr Roy suddenly came over to my seat in the Assembly and said: "I know you are Dr N K Basu’s son Dr Basu was a good friend of mine. But let me tell you one thing, these amendments ........they want ..........". He was obviously referring to the numerous amendments proposed to the draconian Bill. Another day, another time. I have already said that we were tenants at NRS Sarkar Hindustan Insurance Building for a long time. We had got no difference there. In the Assembly Dr Sarkar attacked on a personal level. I countered by saying:" Entire West Bengal know everything about you".

Yet another day. Manikuntala Sen and some other leaders came to Writers Building in a procession with some demands that the Women’s defence committee. Police did not allow the procession to come. I was present at that time. The women stood outside and raised slogans. I tried my best that Kiran Shankar Roy talks with the delegation.

When I was searching for Kiran Babu, Dr Sarkar fetched for me. He told me "I; had a fight with the ......other day. I know your family well enough. Don’t think anything to heart"

Kiran Shankar Roy called me. I told him that he should come out and talk to the women. He replied: "It is useless talking to women. They will not understand logic. Ask them to give their demands in writing and I shall look into it" I conveyed this to the delegates and the women left