Discuss the major issue which led to the formal split of the Congress Party in 1969.

Solution

The major issue which led to the formal split of the Congress Party in 1969 was the differences between Indira Gandhi and the ‘syndicate'. Its discussed below:

(i) She launched a series of initiatives to give the government policy a Left orientation. She got the Congress working committee to adopt a Ten Point Programme in May 1967. This programme included social control of banks, nationalisation of General Insurance, ceiling on urban property and income, land reforms and other items. While (syndicate) leaders approved this left wing programme, they had serious reservations about the same.

(ii) The factional rivalry between the syndicate and Indira Gandhi came in the open in the Presidential election in 1969. The official Congress candidate was N. Sanjeeva Reddy. Indira Gandhi, however, encouraged V.V. Giri, to file nomination as an independent candidate. The Congress President issued a whip but Indira Gandhi called for a ‘conscience vote’ leading to V.V. Giri victory.

(iii) In the meantime, Indira Gandhi also announced the nationalisation of fourteen leading private banks and the abolition of privy purses which led differences between Indira Gandhi and the Finance Minister Morarji Desai resulting in Desai leaving the government.

These events led to the split in the Congress in 1969 into two - Congress (Organisation) and Congress (Requisitionists).

Some More Questions From Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress system Chapter

State which of these were reasons for the defeat of the Congress in 1967. Give reasons for your answer.
(a) The absence of a charismatic leader in the Congress party

(b) Split within the Congress party

(c) Increased mobilisation of regional, ethnic and communal groups

(d) Increased unity among non-Congress parties

(e) Internal differences within the Congress party

What were the factors which led to the popularity of Indira Gandhi’s Government in the early 1970s ?

What does the term ‘syndicate’ mean in the context of the Congress party of the sixties ? What role did the Syndicate play in the Congress party ?