Minutes of the Extra Ordinary Meeting of the State Council of the Swatantra Party, Maharashtra held on Sunday July 30, 1989.

Summary

These minutes record an extraordinary meeting of the Maharashtra State Council of the Swatantra Party held on 30 July 1989. The council discussed the amended Representation of the People’s Act and the Election Commission of India’s guidelines requiring political parties to register. The resolution argues that the Election Commission’s authority concerns the conduct of elections, not the formation or functioning of political parties, and questions the validity of the registration requirement.

The resolution affirms the party’s loyalty to the Constitution, democracy, and India’s integrity, while qualifying the statutory requirements concerning secularism and socialism. It defines secularism as equal respect for all religions and rejects a compulsory oath to socialism because the term has multiple meanings; instead, the party affirms social justice. The council authorised its president to write to the Election Commission without prejudice to the party’s right to challenge the law.

Key points

• The meeting considered registration requirements for political parties under an amendment to the Representation of the People’s Act.
• The resolution contests the Election Commission of India’s authority over the formation and functioning of political parties.
• The Swatantra Party, Maharashtra affirms loyalty to the Constitution adopted in 1950 and its commitment to democracy.
• The party accepts secularism as equal respect for all religions rather than the exclusion or rejection of religious belief.
• The party declines to swear by socialism because the term is understood in different ways by different people.
• The party substitutes a commitment to social justice for a compulsory oath to socialism.
• The State Council authorised its president to correspond with the Election Commission while reserving the right to challenge the registration law.