Election Manifesto

Summary

The 1967 Swatantra Party Election Manifesto presents the party as an alternative to what it describes as nearly two decades of Congress misrule. In the rendered pages, it attributes political disorder, constitutional violations, economic stagnation, inflation, excessive taxation, public corruption, social division, and weak national defence to centralised power, statist policy, and ideological planning. It rejects dictatorship and state control in the name of socialism, arguing instead that individual enterprise should be released within a framework of limited, accountable government.

In the rendered pages, the party’s programme combines economic liberalisation with constitutional and administrative reform. It calls for ending the Permit-Quota-Licence Raj, reducing taxes and government expenditure, abolishing land revenue and compulsory agricultural procurement, restoring competition, dissolving the Planning Commission, opposing bank nationalisation and monopolies, and stabilising the currency. Its agricultural proposals include secure tenancy, better access to credit and inputs, free movement of farm produce, famine insurance, irrigation, and protection for landless labourers. The manifesto also supports workers’ organisation and profit-sharing, free and compulsory elementary education, autonomous educational institutions, restoration of Fundamental Rights, speedy justice, an ombudsman, electoral reform, and a more assertive regional defence policy directed particularly at Communist China. The rendered pages end during the education programme; the remaining five PDF pages were not available for inspection.

Key points

• The manifesto blames Congress rule for constitutional erosion, economic stagnation, inflation, corruption, social division, and inadequate national defence.
• It rejects dictatorship, statism, and excessive state control, advocating individual freedom, private possessions, enterprise, and decentralised ownership.
• Its economic programme proposes dismantling the Permit-Quota-Licence Raj, reducing taxes and expenditure, restoring competition, and limiting government-sector investment.
• Agricultural policy centres on secure tenure, abolition of land revenue, freer agricultural markets, irrigation, famine insurance, and support for farmers and landless labourers.
• The manifesto supports workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively, closer worker-management association, good wages, and progress-sharing.
• It advocates democratic rather than coercive planning, monetary stability, opposition to bank nationalisation, and dissolution of the Planning Commission.
• Constitutional proposals include restoring Fundamental Rights, ending the prolonged Emergency, strengthening judicial redress, establishing an ombudsman, and reforming elections.
• Foreign-policy proposals call for revising non-alignment, strengthening regional defence arrangements, confronting Communist China, supporting South Vietnam, and recognising the Dalai Lama’s government in exile.