Draft Minutes of the Second Meeting of the General Council of the Swatantra Party held on Saturday, 6th November, 1971, in the auditorium of the Federation of Gujarat Mills & Industries, Federation Building, Baroda

Summary

These five pages record the draft minutes of the Swatantra Party’s Second General Council meeting, held in Baroda on 6 November 1971. The minutes list representatives and invitees from several states, record the President’s welcome and a procedural clarification concerning Dahyabhai V. Patel’s exclusion from the National Executive election, and confirm the previous meeting’s minutes. The Council also adopts a condolence resolution for Rao Bahadur B. L. Patil and ratifies reduced membership and renewal fees, while retaining a lower renewal subscription for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members.

The recorded decisions focus heavily on party organisation and federal structure. The Council co-opts additional members, delegates further co-option authority to the National Executive, and approves the creation of separate Telangana and Andhra regional units within Andhra Pradesh. It also accepts the bifurcation of Assam into Assam and Meghalaya regional units, discusses a proposed All-India Farmers’ Union, and unanimously adopts resolutions concerning the Orissa cyclone, border-district suffering, Communist China’s admission to the United Nations, government by ordinance, Sikh gurdwaras, and Bangla Desh. The final pages report approval of a draft election manifesto and a statement on the current political situation; the meeting then terminates.

Key points

• The document records the Swatantra Party General Council meeting held in Baroda on 6 November 1971.
• The Council addressed a procedural dispute over Dahyabhai V. Patel’s exclusion from the National Executive election.
• It mourned the death of Rao Bahadur B. L. Patil and confirmed the previous General Council minutes.
• Membership and renewal fees were reduced, with a 50-paisa renewal subscription retained for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members.
• The Council co-opted members and delegated additional co-option authority to the National Executive.
• Separate Telangana and Andhra regional units were created, and Assam was divided into Assam and Meghalaya regional units.
• The Council considered party organisation, an All-India Farmers’ Union, several political resolutions, an election manifesto, and a statement on the current situation.