[Swatantra Party General Council]

Summary

This two-page position paper records proposals by the State Council of the Andhra Unit of the Swatantra Party for consideration by the Party’s General Council at its meeting in Bombay on April 17 and 18. The proposals seek a redistribution of economic benefits toward agricultural labourers, tenants, small farmers, industrial workers, weavers, poor people, disabled people, Harijans, Girijans, and other backward classes. They call for land reform, ceilings on urban property and incomes, parity between agricultural and industrial prices, cost-linked agricultural pricing, minimum wages, crop and livestock insurance, worker participation in industrial management, pensions, rehabilitation centres, and targeted credit and development measures.

Key points

• The paper proposes an agrarian programme favouring agricultural labourers, tillers, tenants, and small farmers.
• It recommends extending ceilings on landed property to urban property and incomes, while reducing income disparities to a ratio of 1:10.
• It calls for agricultural prices to reflect cultivation costs, with government subsidies where necessary to prevent farmers from making losses.
• Industrial policy measures include minimum wages, legislation to maintain industrial relations, and worker participation in management.
• Social-welfare proposals include old-age pensions, rehabilitation centres for disabled people, and work for the able-bodied.
• The document proposes preferential treatment, credit, housing, irrigation, and development assistance for Harijans, Girijans, and other backward classes.
• It seeks nationalised-bank credit and government marketing support for weavers, and calls for immediate socialisation of foreign and commercial banks.