Political apostasy

WE feel no hesitation in saying that the indignation which the action of Shripad Tambe, President of the Central Provinces Legislative Council, in accepting an appointment to the Executive Council of the province has caused in Swarajist circles is perfectly justified. The only defence of the action which Tambe himself has so far offered is that he has accepted the office in his individual capacity, and not as a member of the Swaraj party. But this is absurd on the face of it. The membership of a party has no meaning and no reality if an individual member could act as he pleased, to the extent of violating the most deeply cherished principles of the party, and then defend his action simply by saying that he had acted not as a member of that party but in his personal capacity. On such a basis, no party could exist even for a day. As Pandit Motilal Nehru points out in the admirable statement he has issued to the press on the subject, “Mr Tambe’s action amounts to a most flagrant breach of the fundamental principle of the Swaraj party. His election to the office of President did not absolve him from the solemn obligation he owed to his party, his constituency and his country, to accept no office in the gift of the Government. It was his clear duty to resign his seat in the Council and with it the office of President, to which he was elected by the suffrages of his party, and declare his change of faith publicly before accepting a government post.”