these big landlords and ruling junta of West Pakistan has suppressed the peoples opinion of West Pakistan. They are so much suppressed, they cannot cry, they cannot demand, but the people of East Pakistan are politically conscious. They challenge anybody and everybody. They challenge Mr. Fazlul Haq, Mr. Suhrawardy, Moulana Bhashani; they challenge their leaders. They tell their leaders “You have done this wrong and we will not vote for you, but they have been suppressed, persecuted and they have been economically ruined. They have no land; no shelter. But, Sir, we have nothing against the people of West Pakistan, but against the ruling junta, who have entered the Constituent Assembly through the backdoor, one who were not even in the District Board and have become Foreign Minister of Pakistan and such people want to speak on behalf of the people of East Pakistan and say that the people of East Bengal support this draft Constitution. Sir, I have just come from East Pakistan and know the mind of the people there. I know that they have rejected this un-Islamic, undemocratic and dictatorial Constitution, and it cannot be accepted by the people of Pakistan, particularly the people of East Pakistan. These people are thinking that they will sit in Karachi like Mr. Pathanhe will never go back to East Pakistan; he is domiciled here. So these people are also thinking that they will earn some money and make a house here. They cannot go back because they are going against the demand of full regional autonomy which is the demand of the people. You can kill us, you can jail us. Sometimes we hear that our lives are in danger, but we are not afraid. We have been elected by the people on the basis of 21-Point Programme, on the basis of regional autonomy. They can betray but we cannot.
Mr. Abdul Aleem: We have never betrayed.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Sir, the people of East Bengal will never accept the draft Constitution. You can arrest us. You have already arrested our friends and you will arrest more. I would appeal to my friends, Hon'ble Mr. Chundrigar, who fought in the Federal Court about the dissolved Constituent Assembly and who has fortunately become the Law Minister now, to frame the Constitution on the basis of 21-Point Programme. If you want to push through the Constitution you could do so, but if you press this Constitution, then you are playing with fire. I have just now come from East Bengal, and I know the sentiments of the people there, of the agriculturists, the poor business men and other people of East Bengal. If you push through this Constitution, God alone knows what will happen. We want that Pakistan should be saved with the ruling junta for the poor masses, who have achieved Pakistan after great sacrifices. These people who are now ruling were not 2-anna members in the struggle for Pakistan. They want to destroy Pakistan in the name of Islam. If you frame the Constitution on the basis of 21-Point Programme, we will cooperate with you, we will join you, but if you go against the wishes of the people, we will mobilize opinion not only in East Pakistan but also in West Pakistan against this dictatorial and undemocratic Constitution. If you agree to pass a democratic Constitution we will help you to pass it within seven days, even within three days but that Constitution should be on the democratic basis, on the basis of 21-Point Programme, otherwise wewill oppose it tooth and nail.
Mr. Ataur Rahman Khan (27th Jan., 1956): Sir............If the people of East Bengal feel that they are a different people, it is these people here who have forced them to do so
