press note
For favour of publication on the morning of May 15.
By Minoo Masani
Bombay · 1968
1 pages
Summary
This one-page press statement, issued in Bombay on 14 May 1968 and signed by M. R. Masani, reports an unpublished decision not to take serious disciplinary action against members of the Swatantra Party who had been summoned to explain their conduct during the recent elections to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. It releases correspondence between Masani and N. Dandekar, the party’s General Secretary, concerning Masani’s decision to withdraw his resignation from the party’s National Executive.
Masani criticizes the published version of the committee’s decision as an “eye wash.” He argues that the committee ignored failures by the President and General Secretary of the Gujarat State unit and the actions of certain parliamentary members, including a National Executive member who travelled from Delhi to Ahmedabad to campaign against the party’s candidate. The statement frames the dispute as one of political ethics, party discipline, and institutional credibility: Masani warns against authoritarianism, insists that means must be as clean as ends, and says he would return to share responsibility if the party adopts ethical and disciplined functioning.
Key points
- The statement announces that serious disciplinary action, including expulsion, was not taken against certain Swatantra Party members.
- It releases letters exchanged by M. R. Masani and N. Dandekar about Masani’s resignation from the party’s National Executive.
- Masani describes the published committee decision as an “eye wash” and accuses it of overlooking misconduct in the Gujarat State unit.
- The statement criticizes campaigning against the party’s candidate by a National Executive member.
- Masani links the dispute to the party’s ethical standards, political acumen, and public credibility.
- He warns that a weakened democratic constitution could leave little scope for the Swatantra Party or other parties.
- Masani says he is prepared to resume responsibility if the party adopts ethical and disciplined functioning.
Metadata and summary are AI-extracted from the source PDF and reviewed for editorial accuracy. The original work is available via the Read PDF tab above (where present); paragraph-level citation inside the PDF is deferred to a future engagement.
