556 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : It is not in the interests of the public to give any information.
Mr. K. C. Neogy : Does the Honourable Member know that it is published in the newspapers ?
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: That may be so. Government will not take any responsibility.
Mr. K. C. Neogy : This report is from the Associated Press, one of the authorised agencies. It is stated that they struck work on the issue of a National Government in India.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I do not know what the Honourable Member means that the Associated Press is an authorised agency.
Mr. K. C. Neogy : I am afraid the Honourable Member does not care to read the Government communiques.
Sardar Sant Singh : May I know whether it is a fact that all these strikes occurred after the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi and his co-workers ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Well, I cannot give definite information, but my impression is that these strikes were not spontaneous.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : Will the Honourable Member be pleased to state the dates on which the strikes started ? We can draw inferences therefrom.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Where ? In what place ?
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : In Tata’s.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : As I said, I am not prepared to give any information because it is not in the public interest to give any information.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : I do not want the reasons for the strike or any such information ; I want the dates on which the strikes were declared.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I have stated that it will not be in the public interest to give any information.
Sardar Sant Singh : Is it a fact or not that all these strikes had occurred after the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi and does the Government believe or not that this shows the intensity of the movement and the following that Mahatma Gandhi has got in the country.