and jotedars and that there would be no solution without direct action and sustained public pressure. Initially the committee principally engaged itself in laying down demands for price control, redistribution of state lands and organising agitations with that in retrospect. On 10 February 1959, Basu and other leaders of the PIFRC met with the Chief Minister, Bidhan Chandra Roy who gave them verbal assurances that ration shops will be restocked offering amenable prices but the assurances weren't followed through. On 26 April, Union Food Minister, Ajit Prasad Jain declared that the food situation in West Bengal was "easy, smooth and comfortable". This caused widespread public outrage and led to the intensification of the Food movement of 1959 between May–June as the situation was further aggravated by hoarders attempting to save up stocks in illegal go-downs and warehouses. The persistent refusal of the Government of West Bengal to consider the demands presented also provoked the PIFRC into augmenting the demands to include enactment of ceilings on private land holdings and confiscation without compensation of excessive lands owned by Zamindars (trans: Landlords); these were presented in parallel with general strikes and organised direct action endorsed and supported by the committee to locate and force the sale of hidden stocks of rice. On 25 June, the PIFRC and over 100 trade unions called a statewide hartal (general strike) to protest against the "anti–food" policies of the government. The agitators held an open mass meeting near the Chief Minister's residence where Basu was present among the speakers alongside Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Tridib Chaudhuri and Bankim Mukherjee, who demanded that the government should meet the conditions presented by the PIFRC or resign, otherwise they would organise a mass civil disobedience movement. On 9 July, the Swadhinata gave a clarion call through an editorial which stated that "People of West Bengal know quite well that the Congress Government and its food policy are responsible for their destitute condition. They also know that only by hitting hard, time and again, they could be forced to do at least something…" Earlier on 6 July, the PIFRC had issued a press release stating intent to begin the civil disobedience movement by taking preparations to organise volunteers; Basu was among the list of signatories that included Niranjan Sengupta and Nihar Mukherjee. The committee further set the date of 20 August for the beginning of the civil disobedience movement. In August,