Morning News
21st November 1956
Mujib’s Rejoinder to Manzar
East Pakistan Commerce and Industries Minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is also the General Secretary of East Pakistan Awami League has issued the following statement on Monday: “My attention has been drawn to a news item published by a section of the Press that Mr. Manazar-e-Alam. Joint Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League on his return to Karachi, a few days ago had circulated a hand-out alleging that gruel kitchens set up to feed the famine-stricken people in East Pakistan were being utilized for securing political advantages by the Awami League and that those opposed to joint electorates are refused food served from these gruel kitchens. “This is a palpably untrue statement, malaciously made hardly deserve any repudiation here the East Pakistan, because the people are ruby aware of the actual state on affairs. But it calls for a public refusal since there is a danger of the unwary and uninformed public in the western wing being misled into behaving this canard put forward by this Muslim League functionary calculated to create political mischief.
The author himself must have realized that he should make such a fancy, down-right mischievous statement in a more remote and hospitable atmosphere in Karachi rather than in Dacca for he knows it very well that if he had made such a statement anywhere in East Pakistan people’s wrath would have welled up so much that it would have overwhelmed him.” “For the benefit of those of our compatriots, who are not conversant with the constitution and actual working of the gruel kitchens. I am briefly giving the following details:
(i) There are about 1,000 gruel kitchens now being operated in various places in East Pakistan. In every union the local Food and Relief Committee which has been reconstituted by the present Government to make it broad-based reflecting all sections of opinion is operating the gruel kitchens under the overall supervision of Government officials.
(ii) Government is supplying free rice to every gruel kitchen from two maunds, upward daily.
(iii) Incidental expenses for running the gruel kitechens are met by raising voluntary subscriptions locally.
(iv) Government meet such contingencies where voluntary subscriptions are not forthcoming. So far Government have sanctioned Rs. 80,000 for this purpose.
It will, therefore, be seen that while these gruel kitchens are supplied by the Governments these are run purely on voluntary service given on social and humanitarian consideration without any party or political consideration. Even if it desired to run these gruel kitchens by officials it would have been impossible to do so because so many Government servants are not available. The distribution of food in the gruel kitchens is left with the local workers who volunteer their services on social and humanitarian considerations and not for grinding political axes. No political consideration is shown in accepting the services of these volunteers.