Draft Minutes of the Meeting of the Central Parliamentary Board Held at Kalki Buildings, Chetput, Madras, on July 20, 1970.

Summary

These draft minutes record the Swatantra Party Central Parliamentary Board meeting held at Kalki Buildings, Chetput, Madras, on 20 July 1970. The Board confirmed the previous meeting’s minutes and reviewed internal party discipline, including complaints about parliamentary statements by Lobo Prabhu, the handling of travel-agent commissions, and the Gujarat Rajya Sabha election. It concluded that Lobo Prabhu’s remarks differed in emphasis but did not contradict the party position, while also urging members to study issues and consult party leadership before adopting public positions. In the Gujarat case, the Board attributed difficulties partly to an inadequate understanding of the single transferable vote system and ordered a circular explaining how second-preference votes operate.

The minutes then turn to parliamentary strategy and party performance. The Board opposed the proposed West Bengal octroi levy, citing its economic and administrative defects; expressed concern over Swatantra MPs signing a petition to impeach Justice Shah without party clearance; and planned a Private Member’s Bill to consolidate ministers’ salaries and perquisites into taxable income. It reviewed by-elections in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Mathura, discussed the resignation of Krishnaswamy Gounder and Tamil Nadu party arrangements, authorised a possible anti-Congress and anti-Communist democratic front in Kerala, and considered pending by-elections in Gurdaspur and Avinashi. The final pages address the Punjab ministry, Orissa’s proposed steel plant and textbook nationalisation, and Bihar’s participation in a Samyukta Vidhayak Dal arrangement. The document is a procedural record rather than a signed political essay, and contains no formal author attribution.

Key points

• The Board confirmed the minutes of its 11 April 1970 meeting.
• It reviewed party members’ parliamentary statements and stressed prior study and consultation before public commitments.
• It attributed the Gujarat Rajya Sabha election difficulty partly to misunderstanding the single transferable vote system.
• It opposed the proposed West Bengal octroi levy and requested further consideration of alternatives.
• It criticised eight MPs for signing a petition to impeach Justice Shah without first clearing it with party leaders.
• It proposed taxing ministers’ salaries and perquisites as consolidated income.
• It reviewed electoral setbacks, coalition strategy, resignations, and pending by-elections across several states.
• It referred Orissa’s steel-plant question to the National Executive and opposed further state nationalisation of textbooks.