It is important to elaborate on this agitation. We were the single largest Opposition group in the Assembly and I was its leader. Apart from this I was also the secretary of the provincial committee of the party.

The teachers had many demands but uppermost at that point of time was the raising of dearness allowance to Rs 35 and Rs 180 instead of Rs 75 as the minimum monthly salary. This was done according to the recommendations of the Secondary Board, which was a semi-government institution and had government representatives in it. A few months earlier, the ABTA had placed a memorandum of demands to the chief minister.

Dr Roy, however, did not take any action on the memorandum. Some of us from the Opposition benches met Dr Roy and asked him to meet the representatives of the teachers. He finally agreed but no decision was taken at that meeting. The chief minister was ready to give in somewhat but would not accept the recommendations of the Board in toto.

Preparations were on for an indefinite strike by the 18,000 secondary teachers. A meeting of the ABTA decided that if the government did not accept the minimum demands by February 9 then the teachers would go on strike indefinitely from the next day onwards. Simultaneously a greater movement was also being planned.

The West Bengal Provincial Committee of our party, the RSP, Forward Bloc and the SUC, the various trade unions, farmers, students and youth organisations came forward to join the striking teachers. The ABTA tried its best to avert the strike and wanted a solution till the last. On February 4, a representative team consisting of the government and teacher members of the Secondary Board met Dr Roy, who however, again flatly refused to accede to the demands. In fact, he also said that he would not keep to the earlier pay structure that he had promised. Rallies, processions and meetings began from February 10. An all-party committee including the Communist Party and other political parties called for a general strike throughout the state on February 12.

On February 10, the historic strike by the teachers started. Students and common men came forward; all efforts to disturb the strike failed. An elderly teacher of the Bishudananda Saraswati Vidalaya was assaulted _ the police also arrested six teachers from outside the Women’s College. A total of 43 schools were closed in Calcutta. The Congress government was shaken and reacted sharply to the spontaneous and successful strike.

On February 11, the police tried to stop the striking teachers even as they were porceeding towards Writers’ Buildings. The teachers had no option but to squat in front of the Raj Bhavan throughout the night. The general secretary of the ABTA, Satyapriya Roy, said that the sit-in would continue till all the demands were met. Like many others, I also went to the Raj Bhavan to express my solidarity with their cause. I spoke on that occasion too. The public response to the strike was enormous and thousands of people could be seen rallying near the Raj Bhavan premises.

The next day, February 12, entire West Bengal shut itself down in support of the striking teachers. The students strike continued simultaneously. The sit-in of the teachers was on till February 14. The Congress government reacted as it was expected to and began indiscriminate arrests of teachers.

Deep into the night on February 14, the teachers who were on dharna at the Raj Bhavan were arrested and their camps pulled down. Raids were on in Calcutta and Howrah. Some MLAs were also arrested.

The Legislative Assembly began its session on February 15. The Opposition decided that we would stage a walkout during the Governor’s address during the joint session of the Assembly and the Legislative Council in protest against the attacks on the teachers. As the Governor rose to speak, we tried to interrupt him for some time, but walked out en masse soon afterwards.

A mass rally was to be taken out on the Assembly premises. This decision infuriated the government more than ever. On February 16, the day of the rally, the police started widescale arrests and raids. Manikuntala Sen, Satyapriya Roy, Anila Devi, Jyotish Jowardar, Sailen Roy and Kanai Bhattacharyya were among those held.

I was not present at my Hindustan Park residence but was staying with my in-laws. The police went to my Hindustan Park residence to arrest me but left when they could not find me there. This news was conveyed to me by one of our comrades at the provincial party office. He also fed us with reports of the widescale arrests and raids. The Congress government was hell-bent on scuttling the rally. At least 500 teachers and workers of Opposition parties and units were arrested that morning.

I took an instant decision that it would do us no good if I were to be arrested then. It was necessary for me to project the atrocities against the teachers on the floor of the Assembly. It would be a mistake if I allowed the police to arrest me before that. I took a taxi to a friend’s place. The Assembly was in session. I kept all the available party members informed of my decision. At the same time, I also devised a strategy of how to get inside the Assembly without being arrested. I did not know whether I would succeed but I would give it a try anyway. As like any other day, I got into a car from my friend’s place and left for the Assembly. The entire Assembly area was surrounded by uniformed policemen with rifles and detectives in plainclothes. But I entered through the main gate as I did everyday. The plainclothesmen did not even imagine that I would dare walk into the Assembly like that; if they had been a trifle more alert, I would have been arrested. Later, they realised their mistake when word spread from inside the chambers. The sleuths ran helter-skelter; high level consultations began as to whether a legislator could be arrested during Assembly proceedings. The chief minister realised that such an extreme step would not be in order. I was told that I would be arrested after I left the complex at the end of the day’s deliberations.

There was no alteration in the plans for the mass rally on February 16 on the Assembly grounds. The government enforced Section 144 on the premises; the entire area looked like a police camp. The forces were busy to foil the rally with lathis, rifles and teargas shells.

After Question Hour, I said : "At 4 o’clock this morning, the police raided my residence with an arrest warrant. This is not the first such incident; it is my good fortune and the bad luck of this government that I was not at home last night and the police could not arrest me. I know that the chief minister will have me arrested as soon as the session ends today."

At this juncture, the Speaker asked, "From inside this chamber?" I replied : "No. I will be arrested after I leave this place. You must be aware that Manikuntala Sen, Kanailal Bhattacharyya and Jyotish Jowardar have already been arrested under the same law. Under these circumstances, I request for your permission to be allowed to stay inside the Assembly premises for a few days. The Budget session is in progress and as a legislator it is expected that I do my duty towards my constituency and the public. Till such time that the arrest warrant against me is withdrawn, I expect that you will grant me permission to stay in this chamber."

The Speaker said: "I can assure the respected members that this chamber is not mine but theirs. If any member asks for shelter from me, then he will be safe here and not be arrested. This is applicable to all legislators. Like any other legislator, you too have this right."

This ruling created quite a stir among the Congress members. I am told that Dr Roy had even reprimanded the Speaker for this.

Apparently, Dr Roy even consulted the advocate-general on whether I could be arrested under these circumstances. This nugget of information was passed on to me by our legislator Bankim Mukherjee. The advocate-general advised that while nothing could stop the law from arresting me, it would, however, be grossly unwise to do so.

For around a week, I stayed in the Assembly. Food used to come from my home as well as my comrades. All these days, the police camps outside the Assembly stayed put, in case I tried to give them the slip.

The police was all attention on February 16 as a 40,000-strong rally was stopped outside the Assembly gates. Even as the rallyists broke the prohibitory orders peacefully, the police attacked them. Initially, leaders like Ambika Chakraborty of the Communist Party and Subodh Banerjee of the SUC were arrested. After this, there were indiscriminate use of the lathi and teargas. There was firing too. I was witness to these incidents as they happened outside the gates of the Assembly. Six people died and 157 were wounded in the terror that the police unleashed. Section 144 was clamped on the entire city. But that did not stop the wave of protests in Calcutta.

Even the next day, the Army and the police continued with its barbaric actions. The incidents of firing continued and 160 people were arrested. Rallies and street-corner meetings were held in protests. The people formed barricades in lanes and bylanes.

On February 17, leaders of all the Opposition groups moved adjournment motions and the Speaker accepted mine. This was the first time since the Assembly was formed in 1952 that an adjournment motion had been accepted. I was supported by the entire Opposition even as I condemned the police action unequivocally. After my speech, I asked even the Congress members to join in our protest. For all those days that the police atrocities continued in the city, we acted as a responsible Opposition party inside the Assembly.

After the discussions on the Budget were over, the party decided that it was now time for me to come out of the Assembly. I had been successful in achieving what I have wanted to by that time. The arrest warrant against me was still very much in force. I took Dr Narayan Roy’s car and went towards the Maidan. Soon, our car was surrounded by some police vehicles on Red Road. I was arrested and sent to jail.

If memory serves, I was in jail for a week without trial after which I was released alongwith other detenus. On February 21, the 12-day-old strike by the teachers ended. The chief minister released all the teachers and other satyagrahi protestors.