Achievements of the Swaraj Party

The Swaraj Party formed on January 1, 1923, after the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement. Chittaranjan Das served as its President, while Motilal Nehru served as its Secretary. The party aimed to enter the legislative councils under the Government of India Act 1919 to disrupt colonial administration from within. In the elections held in November 1923, the Swarajists won 42 out of 101 elected seats in the Central Legislative Assembly. They secured an absolute majority in the Central Provinces and emerged as the single largest party in Bengal.

Major Legislative Achievements

The Swarajists used parliamentary tactics to challenge colonial policies, reject official budgets, and demand responsible government.

Blockade of Budgets and Executive Motions

• Rejection of Budget Demands: In 1924 and 1925, the Swarajist coalition repeatedly voted down budget grants in the Central Legislative Assembly. This forced the Viceroy to use executive certification powers to pass financial measures.
• Exposing Imperial Autocracy: By compelling the Viceroy and provincial governors to frequently use special veto and certification powers, the Swarajists demonstrated that the 1919 reforms lacked real democratic authority.
• Defeat of Oppressive Legislation: In 1928, Swarajist members defeated the Public Safety Bill, which aimed to deport foreign labor organizers and restrict trade union activities.

Institutional Victories

• Election of Vithalbhai Patel: On August 24, 1925, Vithalbhai Patel was elected as the first Indian President (Speaker) of the Central Legislative Assembly, defeating the government-backed candidate T. Rangachariar by two votes.
• Formation of Coalitions: Motilal Nehru formed the Nationalist Party coalition inside the Central Assembly by allying with independent members led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Madan Mohan Malaviya.
• Creation of the Muddiman Committee: Continuous legislative pressure compelled the imperial administration to set up the Alexander Muddiman Reforms Enquiry Committee in 1924 to evaluate the defects of Dyarchy.

Exposure of Dyarchy and Municipal Successes

The Swarajists extended their political strategy to provincial councils and local self-government institutions.

Breakdown of Dyarchy in Provinces

• In the Central Provinces and Bengal, Swarajists refused to accept ministerial portfolios or vote for ministers’ salaries.
• This refusal made the system of Dyarchy unworkable in those provinces, forcing provincial governors to suspend transferred departments and take direct control.

Local Self-Government Control

• Swarajists contested and won elections in major municipal bodies across the country in 1924.
• Chittaranjan Das was elected as the first Mayor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation, where he appointed Subhas Chandra Bose as Chief Executive Officer.
• Vithalbhai Patel became President of the Bombay Municipal Corporation, while Vallabhbhai Patel led the Ahmedabad Municipality, using local administration to advance national education and sanitation.

Historical Facts and Key Data

Chittaranjan Das was popularly known as Deshbandhu. He renounced a legal practice in the Calcutta High Court to join full-time political work and died in June 1925, which weakened the Swaraj Party leadership in Bengal. Motilal Nehru served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Central Legislative Assembly from 1924 to 1926. He represented the Swaraj Party on the Skeen Committee, also known as the Indian Sandhurst Committee, set up in 1925 to evaluate the Indianization of the Army officer corps. Vithalbhai Patel used his position as Assembly Speaker to assert parliamentary independence. In 1928, he used his casting vote to defeat the Public Safety Bill. When the government attempted to reintroduce the bill in April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal smoke bombs into the Assembly chamber to protest its passage. The Swaraj Party operated as an autonomous legislative wing within the Indian National Congress. The Belgaum Session of December 1924, presided over by Mahatma Gandhi, formally ratified the agreement giving the Swaraj Party full authority to direct legislative work on behalf of the Congress. Internal rifts developed within the party after 1925 with the rise of the “Responsivist” faction led by N.C. Kelkar, M.R. Jayakar, B.S. Moonje, and Madan Mohan Malaviya. The Responsivists favored holding government posts to protect Hindu interests, while Non-Responsivists under Motilal Nehru favored continued legislative obstruction. The Swarajist strategy ended in late 1929 when the Lahore Congress Session adopted Purna Swaraj and called for a complete boycott of legislatures.