[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This one-page letter, dated July 7, 1969, reports the Swatantra Party Board’s advice on a Private Members’ Bill concerning salaries, allowances, and other amenities for Members of Parliament. Addressed to Minoo Masani, the letter proposes three possible positions: refer the Joint Select Committee’s recommendations to an impartial third party for an opinion; support only the provisions reflecting the committee’s unanimous recommendations; or abstain from voting on recommendations that were not unanimous if the Congress Party rejected the first two alternatives.

The Board also asks the party’s parliamentary leader, Prof. N. G. Ranga, to persuade the Congress Party to accept the second alternative. The document records an internal parliamentary strategy rather than a general policy argument, and no printed title or reference number is visible on the page.

Key points

• The letter concerns a Private Members’ Bill on MPs’ salaries, allowances, and other amenities.
• The Swatantra Party Board reviewed the bill at a meeting in Madras on June 22.
• The Board proposed seeking an impartial third-party opinion on the Joint Select Committee’s recommendations.
• If that proposal failed, the party was advised to support only unanimously recommended provisions.
• If the Congress Party rejected both alternatives, the party should abstain from voting on non-unanimous recommendations.
• The Board asked Prof. N. G. Ranga to persuade the Congress Party to accept the second alternative.