Which of the following statement is not correct with regard to the restoration of the Congress party in 1971?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The sixth general election to Lok Sabha were held in February 1971.
Option (1) The sixth general election to Lok Sabha were held in February 1971. False. The election of February 1971 was the fifth general election to the Lok Sabha, not the sixth.
Option (2) Indira Gandhi’s government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970. True. She wanted to end her dependence on other parties and seek a popular mandate.
Option (3) Indira Gandhi put forward a positive programme captured in the famous slogan, ‘Garibi Hatao’. True.
Option (4) The Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), Praja Socialist Party (PSP), Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), Swatantra Party (SWA) and the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) came together under the umbrella of Grand Alliance. True.
NCERT (2025-26): “The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress … In order to end her dependence on other political parties, strengthen her party’s position in the Parliament, and seek a popular mandate for her programmes, Indira Gandhi’s government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970. This was another surprising and bold move. The fifth general election to Lok Sabha were held in February 1971. The contest … The electoral contest appeared to be loaded against Congress(R). After all, the new Congress was just one faction of an already weak party. Everyone believed that the real organisational strength of the Congress party was under the command of Congress(O). To make matters worse for Indira Gandhi, all the major non-communist, non-Congress opposition parties formed an electoral alliance known as the Grand Alliance. The Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), Praja Socialist Party (PSP), Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), Swatantra Party (SWA) and the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) came together under this umbrella.… The contest … Yet the new Congress had something that its big opponents lacked – it had an issue, an agenda and a positive slogan. The Grand Alliance did not have a coherent political programme. Indira Gandhi said that the opposition alliance had only one common programme: Indira Hatao (Remove Indira). In contrast to this, she put forward a positive programme captured in the famous slogan: Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty).…” |