Draft minutes of the meeting of the Sub Committee of the Central Parliamentary Board held at the residence of Prof. N.G. Ranga M.P., 44, Western Court, New Delhi on Saturday August 28,1965 at 10.30 a.m.

Summary

These two pages record the draft minutes of a Swatantra Party Sub-Committee meeting held in New Delhi on 28 August 1965 under the chairmanship of Prof. N. G. Ranga. After confirming the previous minutes and noting the death of Maharaja S. P. Singh Deo, the committee considered prospective parliamentary candidates in Andhra, Gujarat, Mysore, and Uttar Pradesh. It also approved Sribatsa Mahapatra as the party’s candidate for an Orissa Assembly by-election, while proposing a dummy candidate as a precaution, and discussed how to fill the Rajya Sabha vacancy caused by Singh Deo’s death.

The committee endorsed the Orissa State Council’s opposition to postponing the state’s elections and promised the Orissa unit political and material support. In response to the economic and food crisis, it planned an “Anti-Food Controls Week” focused on opposition to food controls, zonal restrictions, and maximum prices, while also publicising the party’s pledge to abolish land revenue. The minutes finally record a decision to avoid participation in a proposed “Convention for the Defence of Kashmir,” which the committee associated with Communists and fellow travellers.

Key points

• The document records a 28 August 1965 meeting of the Swatantra Party’s Central Parliamentary Board Sub-Committee.
• The committee reviewed prospective parliamentary candidates across several state constituencies.
• It approved Sribatsa Mahapatra for the Hinjilicut Assembly by-election and considered a dummy candidate as a precaution.
• It supported holding Orissa’s elections as scheduled in 1966 and pledged the state’s party unit political and material assistance.
• It planned an “Anti-Food Controls Week” opposing food controls, zonal restrictions, and maximum prices.
• The campaign was also to highlight the party’s pledge to abolish land revenue.
• The committee advised members not to participate in a proposed Kashmir convention sponsored by Communists and fellow travellers.