CHAPTER 1
IMPOSITION OF PRESIDENT’S RULE IN RAJASTHAN
Rajya Sabha on 20 March, 1967
EDITORIAL NOTE
After the Fourth General Elections in 1967 in Rajasthan, no party could get majority in Legislature. While the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly having won 88 seats, the United Front, a coalition of the non-Congress parties claimed the majority status in the House with the support of Independents.
Dr. Sampurnanand, the Governor invited the leader of the largest single party M. L. Sukhadia of the Congress Party to form the Government. He did not invite Maharawal Laxman Singh, the leader of the United Front who claimed support of 93 members.
Shri Bhupesh Gupta M.P. (West Bangal) moved a Motion in Rajya Sabha to “ call attention of Minister of Home Affairs to the refusal of Governor of Rajya Sabha to invite the non-Congress parties in that State indisregard of well-established conventions and the imposition of President’s Rule in Rajasthan”
Shri Y. B. Chavan replied to the calling attention notice in Rajya Sabha on 20 March, 1967.
Shri Bhupesh Gupta ( West Bengal ) : Sir, I beg to call attention of the Minister of Home Affairs to the refusal of the Governor of Rajasthan to invite the non-Congress parties to form a Government in that State in disregard of well-established conventions and the imposition of President’s rule in Rajasthan.
The Minister of Home Affairs (Shri Y. B. Chavan) : Sir, as you are aware that the recent General Election did not result in an absolute majority for any political party in the Rajasthan Assembly. The Congress emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats in the house of 184. Since one of the members of the Congress party, Shri Damodar Lal Vyas, was elected from two constituencies, the effective strength of the Congress Party became 88 of a total membership of 183.
Both the Congress Party and the opposition parties that had formed themselves into a United Front tried to secure the support of Independent members in order to attain a working majority in the House. Claims and counter-claims were made by both sides. The Governor of Rajasthan had consultations with leaders of various political parties in an effort to ascertain the correct facts. After deliberating over the various aspects of the situation, the Governor decided to invite the leader of the Congress Party, Shri Mohanlal Sukhadia, to form a Government. He explained the reason for doing so in the Press conference addressed by him on the 4th March, 1967, at Jaipur. He said he had decided to invite Shri Sukhadia to form the Government because the Congress Party was the largest single party in the Assembly enjoying a strength of 88 members as against the combined strength of all the opposition parties of only 80. He further said that he had not taken into account the reported defection of a member from the Swatantra Party nor on defection from the Congress. The Governor also pointed out that some complaints had been made to him that some MLAs had been locked up and were not allowed to meet their relations. He observed that such methods had no place in democracy and to encourage such tendencies would be to cut at the roots of democracy. He also referred to the quick changes in the views of some persons who had met him. One member had written to him that he had been asked to support a particular party at the point of pistol, but the member had detracted his statement within 24 hours.
Shri Bhupesh Gupta : No.
Shri Y. B. Chavan : I am merely referring to what the Governor said in his Press conference.