Draft Minutes Of The Adjourned Meeting Of The CENTRAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE Meeting at The Madras Woodlands Hotel, At 9.30 A.M. on January 31, 1964.

Summary

These draft minutes record the adjourned meeting of the Swatantra Party’s Central Organising Committee, held at Madras Woodlands Hotel on 31 January 1964. The document lists attendees and records decisions about the timing of resolutions before the National Convention, cooperation with the Sarvodaya movement, Rajya Sabha nominations, and the replacement of a resigned committee member. It also sets out resolutions concerning an independent non-political board for licenses and permits and a sub-committee to review constitutional proposals.

The minutes present the Swatantra Party’s economic and constitutional alternative to Congress-era planning. They criticize the Five Year Plans for producing higher taxes, rising prices, and indebtedness, while rejecting both laissez-faire and indiscriminate planning. The proposed alternative emphasizes basic necessities, infrastructure, competitive enterprise, reduced government controls, monetary discipline, tax reform, and the elimination of monopoly. The final resolution opposes the Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill as an attack on fundamental rights, property ownership, judicial independence, and the rule of law, and calls for a public campaign and parliamentary resistance.

Key points

• The Central Organising Committee met on 31 January 1964 at the Madras Woodlands Hotel, with Professor N. G. Ranga in the chair.
• Because of limited time, only resolutions recommended by the General Council were to be placed before the National Convention.
• The committee addressed cooperation with the Sarvodaya movement, including Gramdan, Bhoodan, and Sampattidan, while maintaining that the Party could not cooperate on Gramdan.
• The minutes call for an independent, non-political board to control the distribution of licenses, permits, and quotas.
• The Swatantra alternative rejects the existing planning approach while also rejecting laissez-faire, proposing competitive enterprise and a narrower state role.
• The economic programme prioritizes basic necessities, infrastructure, stable prices, lower controls, tax reform, and the elimination of monopoly.
• The Party condemns the Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill as an erosion of fundamental rights, property rights, judicial independence, and constitutional safeguards.