[Letter from N Dandeker]

Summary

This untitled Swatantra Party letter, dated September 13, 1968, records N. Dandekar’s response to a proposal by Mr. C. C. Desai to introduce a constitutional amendment abolishing the President’s and Governors’ powers to nominate members to the Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishads. Dandekar states that the Central Parliamentary Board has approved the proposal in principle and asks Desai to submit a final draft limited to the stated objects, with no new questions of principle or policy.

Key points

• The letter refers to Desai’s earlier correspondence of August 22, 27, and 31, 1968.
• The proposed Bill would abolish the President’s and Governors’ powers to nominate members to the Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishads.
• The Swatantra Party’s Central Parliamentary Board approved the proposal in principle.
• N. Dandekar was authorised to examine and approve the revised Bill.
• The attached minutes extract records that an earlier Bill retaining nomination powers was considered ineffective in practice.
• The final draft was requested to contain only consequential changes and no new questions of principle or policy.