RESOLUTIONS

Summary

This four-page Swatantra Party document consists of a 9 January 1974 covering letter from V.P. Bhatia enclosing resolutions adopted by the party’s General Council at Lucknow on 15–16 December 1973. The resolutions address the revival of linguistic and communal unrest, the deteriorating economic situation, and what the party characterizes as repressive government measures.

The first resolution condemns political interests for fomenting linguistic and communal tensions and urges citizens to oppose what it calls anti-national activity. The economic resolution attributes rising prices, shortages, unemployment, industrial unrest, and declining agricultural and industrial production to defective government policies, monetary expansion, unproductive expenditure, public-distribution failures, and excessive controls. It calls for fiscal discipline, greater investment in agriculture, power, and transport, and incentives for production, alongside reductions in taxes and regulatory constraints. The final resolution protests political oppression, use of the D.I.R. and M.I.S.A., detention without trial, and alleged manipulation of the Election Commission through election-date, delimitation, and reservation decisions.

Key points

• The covering letter, dated 9 January 1974, transmits resolutions adopted at the Swatantra Party General Council meeting in Lucknow on 15–16 December 1973.
• The party attributes renewed linguistic and communal unrest to political interests pursuing narrow and partisan aims.
• The economic resolution records sharp price increases, shortages of essential goods, unemployment, power and transport constraints, and declining agricultural and industrial output.
• The party blames the economic crisis on unproductive government expenditure, monetary expansion, socialist policies, excessive controls, and failures of the public-distribution system.
• The resolutions demand fiscal restraint, increased resources for agriculture, power, and transport, and replacement of public distribution with production incentives.
• The party advocates tax reductions and the removal of licences, permits, quotas, and levies that constrain productive activity.
• The final resolution condemns political repression, detention without trial under the D.I.R. and M.I.S.A., and alleged governmental interference with electoral administration.