On March 23, 1940, Abdul Kashem Fazlul Huq, a well-known politician and the premier of Bengal, presented the Lahore Resolution in the twenty-seventh annual session of the All India Muslim League (a major political party in British India) held in Lahore, Punjab, in what is now Pakistan. Conceptualized as a bargaining device for the Muslim League with its two opponents—the Indian National Congress (INC), also called the Congress Party, and the British government—the Lahore Resolution was composed in clumsy language, keeping the meaning amorphous and hence open to interpretation. The resolution was drafted by the then premier of Punjab, Sikandar Hayat Khan, and was seconded by Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, a prominent leader from the United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh). In the Lahore Resolution, the scheme of federation embodied in the Government of India Act of 1935 was rejected, and a demand was made for adequate, effective, and mandatory safeguards to protect religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative, and other rights and interests of the Muslim community and other minorities. To achieve this aim, the Working Committee, the executive body of the All India Muslim League, was also authorized to frame a constitution, keeping in mind issues related to defense, external affairs, communications, customs, and such other matters.