Previous Year Question
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): In 1946, the Muslim League withdrew its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan.
Reason (R): The Muslim League joined the interim government formed in 1946.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(A) is true, but (R) is false.
(A) is false, but (R) is true.
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Assertion (A) is true. The Muslim League had initially accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan, but on 29 July 1946, the Muslim League Council passed a resolution withdrawing its earlier acceptance.
The withdrawal occurred against the background of serious differences between the Congress and the Muslim League, particularly over the interpretation of the sovereignty of the Constituent Assembly and the grouping of provinces. At the same meeting, the Muslim League also decided to resort to Direct Action for the achievement of Pakistan.
Reason (R) is also true. The Interim Government under Jawaharlal Nehru took office on 2 September 1946, but the Muslim League did not initially join it.
Later, in October 1946, Jinnah agreed to nominate five League representatives to the Interim Government, and Muslim League representatives entered the Government on 26 October 1946. Liaquat Ali Khan was given the Finance portfolio.
However, the League's entry into the Interim Government was not the reason for its withdrawal of acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan on 29 July. In fact, the entry occurred nearly three months later. Archival records also show that when the League was brought into the Interim Government, it had not given an explicit renewed commitment accepting the Cabinet Mission Plan in full.