MINOO & MARXISTS

Summary

In this signed political commentary, “INSIDER” attacks what it presents as Minoo Masani’s sudden rapprochement with Marxist and communist forces during the 1970–71 electoral period. The article argues that Masani’s earlier warnings about efforts to “wreck the Constitution” sit uneasily beside the Swatantra Party’s willingness to form electoral pacts with the Congress (Organisation), the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and other groups. It recalls Masani’s criticism of the CPM and his party’s earlier calls for bans on the CPI and CPM, contrasting that record with his later electoral strategy.

Key points

• The article questions Masani’s reported change from opposing Marxist parties to seeking electoral cooperation with them.
• It links the Swatantra Party’s electoral manifesto to a Congress (Organisation) document and says Masani avoided naming the CPM as a constitutional threat.
• It describes Kamaraj’s proposal that Congress should ally with Jana Sangh, Swatantra, and the BKD rather than remain tied to the communists.
• It reports that Atulya Ghosh and Sanjiva Reddy accepted an arrangement with the Big Brother from Madras, identified in context as the Congress (Organisation) leadership.
• It argues that the Kerala midterm-poll alliance produced an advantageous electoral outcome for the Congress (Organisation), despite earlier opposition to the arrangement.
• It cites Bengal by-election results and the Congress (Organisation)’s decision to contest 213 of 280 Assembly constituencies as evidence of a broader anti-CPM strategy.