The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 160
144 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN Nawab Allah Bakhsh Khan came down very strongly against that suggestion. He said to Khizr, "You either decide to resign and resign, or you decide not to resign and carry on. If after the budget session, you come to the decision that you should resign, then resign. It is no kind of decision: 'I shall resign, but I shall resign after I get the budget through. ' In the first place, how do you know you'll be able to get your budget through, how the situation is going to develop after this announcement of Prime Minister Attlee? In any case you'll get your budget through with the help of your party, which is composed largely of non-Muslims, and would it not be disloyal to them to get their support for carrying your budget through and then do something which they may not approve of? You ought to make a decision one way or the other. If you decide this is not the time to resign, then do not resign and do not say anything at all about it. When the time comes in your judgment to resign, well, then look at the situation at that time and decide accordingly. " Muzaffar Ali Khan left and Khizr decided that during the course of the afternoon he must put the matter before the party. So he called a meeting of the party in his house for the afternoon. I was not present in the meeting, though I was in the house. The discussion went on for quite a long time, and I understood, after the meeting broke up, that the party very emphatically with a very large majority had advised him not to resign and to carry on. But he told them that his decision was that he was going to resign. Before the party meeting he had gone over to see the Governor, Sir Evan Jenkins, and had warned him that he might decide to resign, in which case, he would go back to him after dinner and let him know what his decision was. The party meeting broke up just before dinner, so we dined together - the party members had left - and immediately after dinner Khizr went over to see the Governor, and told the Governor he had decided to resign and advised him to invite the Nawab of Mamdot, the leader of the Muslim League party, to form a government. That was how this difficulty in the Punjab was met. The Governor, I believe, was somewhat disappointed but he did not attempt to dissuade Khizr Hayat from doing what he had decided to do. He told him it was his business, and though personally he would have wished him to continue, if it was his decision to resign he must accept his decision.