Dr Ayesha Jalal, in her book The Sole Spokesman talks about the 1946, tensions between Congress and the Muslim League which reached a boiling point, with the British Cabinet Mission Plan at the centre of the conflict.
Initially, the plan proposed a federation with limited central powers, aiming to prevent a split between Hindu-majority and Muslim-majority areas. However, Congress’s signals that it might revise the plan raised fears of a centralized, Congress-led government among Muslims, leading many to rally behind Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the League.
Jinnah faced a dilemma: although he saw value in the Mission’s proposals, he struggled to balance demands for a separate Muslim nation with the League's desire for parity in government.
His frustration deepened when he accused the British of favouring Congress, interpreting Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru's remarks as dismissive of Muslim interests.
In October 1946, despite setbacks, Jinnah joined the interim government, albeit on reduced terms. He accepted diminished representation, foregoing both parity and veto power, and nominated Jogindranath Mandal, a Scheduled Caste Hindu, in a bid to broaden the League's appeal. Tensions remained high, especially after the introduction of Liaquat Ali Khan’s "poor man’s budget," which proposed a business profits tax that split Congress opinion. While leftist Congress members saw it as a positive economic measure, the right saw it as a threat to India’s financial stability, accusing the League of economic sabotage.