[Letter from S V Raju]

Summary

This one-page letter, dated March 5, 1977, is issued from the Maharashtra Swatantra Party office and signed by K.H. Subramanian, L.R. Sampat, and S.V. Raju. It argues that the party’s assets, including its office premises, are held by its office-bearers as trustees and may be used only to advance the principles adopted at the Swatantra Party’s founding convention in 1959 and incorporated into its constitution.

The signatories object to the proposed merger into Janata on the grounds that the new party is not adhering to those constitutionally embedded principles. They specifically contrast the Swatantra Party’s ideological foundation, associated with C. Rajagopalachari, with Piloo Mody’s stated preference for a party that was programme-based rather than ideologically based. The letter asks that a trust be established to prevent the party’s properties and assets from being misused for activities inconsistent with its principles.

Key points

• The letter invokes the Swatantra Party’s 1959 Statement of Principles and party constitution.
• It characterizes Maharashtra Swatantra Party office-bearers as trustees of party property and assets.
• It insists that party premises and assets be used only to promote the party’s principles.
• It criticizes the merger into Janata because the new party allegedly does not follow those principles.
• It refers to Piloo Mody’s call for a programme-based rather than ideologically based party.
• It proposes establishing a trust to safeguard party property from unauthorized use.