Revise the Congress Constitution
THERE is no public man in the country who has distinguished himself more by directness of speech than Vithalbhai Patel. Whether in the Assembly or on the Congress platform, the role that Patel has been playing since the birth of the Swaraj party is that of the man who will not mince matters and will call a spade a spade, no matter who or what may be affected by the process. The latest instance of this plain-speaking is afforded by the interview which Patel gave to the Free Press of India, and in the course of which he strongly condemned the present Constitution of the Congress and especially the yarn franchise. There is nothing essentially new in Patel’s observations, especially to the readers of this journal, which has been consistently expressing the same views ever since the proposal about the yarn franchise was first adumbrated. But the categorical manner of the condemnation and the refreshingly frank language in which it is couched is Patel’s own, and we have no hesitation in congratulating both him and the country on it. “The Congress,” said Patel, “has been reduced to a handful of people who either believe in spinning because of their acceptance of Mr Gandhi’s personal views in regard to spinning or not believing still agree to pay the compulsory toll for the sake of membership of the Congress. This is not the way to organise national life... The non-cooperation resolution led to the seceding of the Moderates and the Independents. The Congress is the poorer for that secession. The Belgaum pact and the spinning franchise were both grave errors. They have stifled political action and reduced the Congress to a nullity.”
