Draft Minutes of the Meeting of the Central Parliamentary Board held at the residence of the President, Mr. M. R. Masani in New Delhi on 19th March 1970.

Summary

These draft minutes record the Central Parliamentary Board meeting held at M. R. Masani’s residence in New Delhi on 19 March 1970. The Board confirmed the previous minutes, reviewed an alternative bill to replace the Orissa Preventive Detention Act, and made a series of decisions concerning biennial Rajya Sabha elections. These included candidate approvals and instructions on the distribution of first- and second-preference votes in Andhra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mysore, Orissa, Assam, Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Key points

• The minutes list M. R. Masani as chair and record six other attendees, including Professor N. G. Ranga and R. N. Singh Deo.
• The Board reviewed preparations for an alternative Orissa bill intended to replace the existing Preventive Detention Act.
• It approved electoral arrangements and preference-vote agreements for Rajya Sabha contests in several states.
• The Board supported cooperation with the Congress Opposition Party in Andhra and considered similar arrangements elsewhere.
• It reviewed political stability in Orissa and Gujarat, including the prospects of Swatantra Party involvement in government.
• The Board adopted a strong constitutional and rule-of-law position on West Bengal, calling for measures under Articles 356 and 352 to restore order and protect liberties.
• Other matters included a Buldana parliamentary by-election, disciplinary correspondence concerning C. C. Desai, an Urdu Committee convention, a Mysore leadership question, and the Bharatpur by-election.