Draft Minutes of the Meeting of the Central Parliamentary Board held at the Vithalbhai Patel Bhavan, New Delhi on November 24, 1968

Summary

These three rendered pages comprise the draft minutes of a Swatantra Party Central Parliamentary Board meeting held at Vithalbhai Patel Bhavan, New Delhi, on 24 November 1968. The minutes record the confirmation of the previous meeting’s proceedings, a reversal of the Board’s earlier decision to oppose Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s resolution concerning the full integration of Kashmir with India, and the Board’s endorsement of the Parliamentary Group’s position. They also note the Election Commission’s withdrawal of the flower symbol from the list of free symbols, except in Assam, and discuss a possible change to the party symbol’s black background.

Key points

• The Board confirmed the minutes of its 3 October 1968 meeting in Bhubaneswar.
• After communications from C. Rajagopalachari and Minoo Masani, the Board endorsed the Parliamentary Group’s decision on Vajpayee’s Kashmir-integration resolution.
• The Board welcomed the Election Commission’s withdrawal of the flower from the list of free symbols, with an Assam-specific exception.
• Members examined black- and grey-background versions of the party’s star symbol and preferred the grey-background version for submission to the Election Commission.
• The Board reviewed forthcoming mid-term elections in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Punjab, including candidate selection and possible former Independents seeking to join the party.
• It approved or ratified candidates for by-elections in Nagercoil and Gujarat, and recorded unsuccessful party candidacies in Andhra, Rajasthan, and Mysore.
• The minutes address parliamentary disorder, possible readmission of expelled members, and state-unit election manifestos.