[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This one-page letter from P. K. Deo to Minoo Masani, dated February 10, 1970, discusses the political position of the Swatantra Party after the Supreme Court judgment on the Bank Nationalisation Act. Deo reports that several Members of Parliament from Orissa who had left or were leaving the Congress were seeking assurances about future Swatantra Party tickets, and he describes efforts to bring them into the party. The letter also notes the electoral importance of the Koraput district, where two candidates had recently won by-elections by narrow margins. The letter further reports that J. Sunderlal, MP from Bastar, had returned to Congress after allegedly being promised a motorcycle, and asks whether it would be worthwhile to try to bring him back. Deo apologises for missing a National Executive meeting because of domestic responsibilities, while expressing confidence that the party’s decisions are in safe hands. The page is an archival office letter with handwritten annotations and a signature; no printed title or publication information is present.

Key points

• The letter responds to the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Bank Nationalisation Act. Deo describes the movement of Orissa MPs between Congress and the Swatantra Party after the Congress split. Two MPs from the Koraput district are portrayed as seeking assurances of future Lok Sabha tickets before joining Swatantra. The letter tracks the reduced number of Congress representatives from Orissa in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Deo reports that J. Sunderlal of Bastar had returned to Congress after being promised a motorcycle.
• The writer asks whether Sunderlal should be approached again and explains his absence from a National Executive meeting.