Letter to Mr Minoo Masani

Summary

A short typed letter from Prof. N. G. Ranga, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), to M. R. Masani, General Secretary of the Swatantra Party, dated 27 March 1963 from Western Court, New Delhi. Ranga informs Masani that the Finance Bill will be taken up for general consideration from 18th or 19th April 1963 for two or three days, though he is uncertain whether it will go to the Select Committee. He then flags that the Delhi Unit is organising a public meeting for Masani and Shri Dandekar on 11 April 1963 at Sapru House, and proposes a tea party at 5.30 p.m. in the Western Court lounge so Masani can meet all the Swatantra Members of Parliament and brief them on the Bill; he notes that the twelfth is Good Friday and a holiday.

The closing paragraph is a pointed complaint about the press. Ranga reports that the Party has succeeded in lining up speakers on every demand to present its point of view, but that newspapers are giving little space or attention to what the Opposition is saying — in his telling, because of a recent practice of bypassing the PTI service and relying only on cursory notes from Special Correspondents. This, he writes, is “completely stifling the Opposition.” A handwritten postscript notes enclosures, including a copy of his letter to Rajaji.

Key points

• Letter from N. G. Ranga (MP, Lok Sabha) to M. R. Masani, General Secretary of the Swatantra Party, dated 27 March 1963.
• Notes that the Finance Bill will be taken up for general consideration from 18th or 19th April 1963 for two or three days, with uncertainty about a Select Committee reference.
• Reports a Delhi Unit public meeting planned for Masani and Shri Dandekar at Sapru House on 11 April 1963.
• Proposes a 5.30 p.m. tea party at Western Court lounge so Masani can brief all Swatantra MPs on the Finance Bill and explain the party’s line.
• Records that Swatantra speakers have been fielded on every demand during parliamentary proceedings.
• Complains that the press is giving little space to Opposition arguments, which he attributes to newspapers bypassing the PTI service in favour of cursory Special Correspondent notes.
• Frames the press behaviour as “completely stifling the Opposition.”
• Handwritten enclosure note refers to a copy of Ranga’s letter to Rajaji and a communication from Lucknow.