Party attacks

SIR Surendranath Banerjee’s re-entry into active politics and journalism does not seem to be an altogether happy event. He has already shown an unhealthy dispensation to waste some of his efforts in party attacks and personal recriminations. Soon after the Faridpore Conference, the veteran patriot attacked CR Das for adopting an obstructive policy in the Council, which, he said, had thoroughly failed. If that was so, Sir Surendranath should have felt gratification and welcomed Das, given his own advice. But he did not do so. He has chosen to quarrel with the Swarajist leader at a time when the latter has made a gesture of peace and invited Lord Birkenhead to make it easy for Swarajists to cooperate with the government. Again, in the course of an article in the Leader, Sir Surendranath pursues Das and attacks him with a vehemence seldom equalled even by the Anglo-Indian press. He describes the work and aims of the Swarajists by saying that “the impact of dawning consciousness of the community has reached upon the Swarajist party and has necessitated the change of programme.” We have not been able to find anything in Das’ Faridpore speech which can justifiably be construed as a confession of failure of the obstructive policy necessitating a change of front. Nor does the great patriot of Bengal, who puts such a construction on the speech, give his reason for such thinking. He cannot ignore the definite statement made by Das in that speech that in the event of the government not responding to his offer of cooperation, he would pursue the policy of obstruction so as to carry out the original object.