Bhupesh Gupta and I met the President in New Delhi. We elucidated all the complaints to him. The President listened to us with attention and showed a keen interest in the various allegations. He also promised us that he would send the allegations to respective departments of the Union government. At the same time he said that the President had no constitutional role in these matters. The petition said :

"The West Bengal state government is submitting this petition to you. It contains numerous allegations against the government led by Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. But these allegations are not exhaustive. The people of West Bengal stand by these complaints and it is on their request that we are sending these to you...It will be obvious that the state government has gone about destroying the constitutional rights of the people and empowering itself with an extra-constitutional power in a conscious and systematic manner. It will also be obvious that far from wanting to administer and govern this state, Dr Roy’s ministry has put a huge burden on the people. The fundamental rights of the people have not been cared for and the government has gone about its rule with the intention to help individuals and vested interests. Corruption is one of the main features of this administration."

The introduction to the petition also said the only gainers have been the people with vested interests and rich industrialists and individuals close to some of the ministers. "The people will refuse to take this any longer as there seems to be no hope left for them... We are clear about the fact that in the end it will be the people who will take it upon themselves to remove this huge burden and gain freedom."

"The previous two general elections have proved that the brave and patriotic people of West Bengal are moving towards that end. The Constitution tells us that you have a certain honest responsibility to ensure good governance in all the states. Apart from this, we are sure that you will agree with us that in a written Constitution like ours, much depends on analysing the letter and the spirit of the statute. In this respect, the people and the country should be the final arbiters. The West Bengal government has failed to discharge its responsibility towards the Constitution, not to forget the people....

"We did not get the opportunity nor the good fortune to meet you with these allegations earlier. But there is nothing new in these complaints. We, as well as others, have time and again raised these issues both inside and outside the West Bengal Assembly but have got no redressal. The state government has continued to do just the opposite and have answered back with extreme misrule and mal-administration, thereby pushing the people to a corner. The West Bengal government cannot be allowed to get away with what it is doing.

"We believe that given the peace-loving nature and discipline of the people of West Bengal, the apparent calm should not be taken as a reflection of the contentment of the electorate. They should also not be construed as any short of acceptance of the government’s misrule by the people of West Bengal.

"We have chosen to keep ourselves confined to the period between 1948 and 1959 in preparing this petition. The reason is clear. The Congress govenment led by Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy has been administrating the state during this entire term. All the ministers now were ministers in the earlier government too; these people are walking a narrow selfish path to aggrandize themselves and create their own coterie. The government has been totally isolated from the people." The introduction ended with an appeal to the President saying, "We hope as the President of our democracy, you will pay attention to these complaints."

The 14-point petition was published in English, Bengali, Urdu and Hindi and sent to other states. This created a stir in many states. The Congress government tried its best to ensure that the petition did not reach the masses but failed miserably. Finally, with no way out, some of those against whom complaints were made individually, filed defamation cases against some of our state council leaders and the "Swadhinata." Later, however, all the cases were withdrawn.

Here are some extracts from the petition. In the 14th and last section, the state committee of our party concluded, " The Congress government has lost the right to rule West Bengal." It also said, "The fashion in which the Congress government has run this state for the last 11 years and driven the masses to a corner with its systematic channelisation of power to protect the interests of a minority and the improper use of the administrative machinery has turned the government into den of corruption. The only conclusion that we can reach is that the Congress government in West Bengal has lost its right to rule."

Some of the other complaints were listed thus:

"Complaint No.1: Wastage of government finance, nepotism and misuse of the administrative machinery for party ends:

"The last 11 year of Congress rule in West Bengal is a tale of failure. But this failure has not been unintentional or sudden but totally systematic and motivated.

"This government’s policies are usually derived from the necessity to protect a minority: not only vested interests but also individuals and party influences have played a role.

"Complaint No.2: The Congress has used the administration in every possible way to win elections. In the last general elections the state government’s secretary of home affairs was appointed as the Congress election officer with little respect for constitutional norms.

"Complaint No. 3: Misuse of government relief for the interest of the party: This government has kept the entire relief system within the jurisdiction and influence of the Congress party. All relief work, including state budgets have been distributed only among block Congress committees and other party units. This petition has countless authenticated proof of this misuse."

The people were getting increasingly agitated over the misrule of the Congress and the Congress government was finding it difficult to stop the power of the people despite various oppressive measures. The Congress rulers were now desperate and this was evident in a new step which they took suddenly.

It came to our knowledge that the West Bengal government, under the excuse of protecting the rights of pedestrians, traffic and commuters was trying to bring in a law which would make rallies and processions illegal. This was in the beginning of 1960. We were also told that under the proposed law, any violation could invite imprisonment up to three years or fine, or both. The name of the proposed Bill was the West Bengal Rallies and Procession Control Bill 1960". It was learnt that the Bill would be placed in the next Assembly session.

The promulgation of this law would mean hitting at the very basis of democracy and constitutional right. This shameful and dictatorial attitude only proved that the useless Congress government was only bent on trying to extend its tenure by any means and take away the rights of the people so that they could not organise themselves against the government nor protest against its oppressive policies. The Provincial Krishak Sabha Secretary Comrade Harekrishna Konar said in a statement, "This is a major attack on the lives of the people and their right to earn a living as also a major step to consolidate the rule of dictator."

We started protest meeting and rallies and a central rally was called at the Maidan. More than 1.5 lakh people assembled to protest against this proposed black law. A unanimous proposal was adopted at this meeting which was introduced by me. It said this barbaric and black Bill was meant to destroy the democratic agitation against the anti-people government...The West Bengal government is under the impression that while the national attention is being focused on the border dispute and warmongers are having a field day, this black law will be passed unnoticed. This meeting warns the government that the consequences could be dangerous. This meeting also appeals to all the people to take whatever steps are necessary to thwart this Bill."

On January 24 1960, the state observed a protest day and we formed a committee against this bill. "A total of 50,000 signatures were collected on that day; in a short time, the number had gone up to 68,000 and the memorandum was given to the government on behalf of committee by Niranjan Sen, Lakhsmi Sen, Nihar Mukherjee and Tara Dutta. The government consented to withdraw the Bill.

At the same time, the elections to the Kerala Assembly were also at hand. This was a historic moment because the polls were being held after the constitutionally-elected Communist Party had been dismissed by the Centre. On the previous occasion, the BSP was with us but this time they had joined hands with the Congress. Responding to pleas to help the party in its election funding, the people contributed more than Rs 76,000 which was handed over by Kaka-babu to EMS at a huge rally at the Maidan. Our Kerala campaign was also finalised. Bhupesh Gupta, Md Ismail, Hiren Mukherjee and I attended many meetings in Keraal and were impressed by the encouragement we received there.