dated August 27, 1951: Kidwai against the Congress

Mr. Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, who had resigned from the Central Cabinet and later also from the Congress party, outlined in Lucknow what he said should be the objectives of the Praja Party. Speaking to Praja workers, he said that the foremost objective was to throw out the Congress Government which suffered from serious defects of inefficiency and corruption. Congress governments had brought about unpopularity not only to the parent organisation, but also great dissatisfaction to the masses. Mr. Kidwai said, ``in such circumstances, if Mr. Nehru comes during the election campaign and asks for a vote for the Central and State governments, it will be our duty not to act on his advice.

Though the Congress has declared its faith in Mr. Nehru's leadership, he is not able to get the organisation to work along the lines he would wish. We will regard Mr. Nehru as our leader, but that is confined to the high ideals preached by him, and not in regard to the matter of voting for the present Congress governments.''

Egypt warns Britain

On the 26th in Cairo, Prime Minister, Nahas Pasha, warned Britain that unless she made a ``new and constructive move'' before the end of the Egyptian Parliament session then in progress, talks to revise the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty would be broken off. Sir Ralph Stevenson, British Ambassador, was told that if Britain did not respond soundly to Egypt's national demands, Cairo would formally terminate the talks, leading to total treaty abrogation. Parliament was due to take its summer recess in mid-September.

The Egyptians considered the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 had become obsolete and was in dire need of revision. The revision, or a new treaty, would have to recognise Egypt's complete independence with withdrawal of foreign forces. The stationing of British troops in the Suez Canal zone had become a nightmare to Egyptians.

The authorities contended that if Britain claimed a legal right under the 1936 treaty to station troops in the canal zone until 1956, that right had been abrogated by numerous treaty violations.

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