Consider the following statements about the Swaraj Party: (A) Swaraj Party was formed during the Kakinada Congress Session. (B) C. R. Dass and Motilal Nehru were in favour of entering the Legislative Councils as per the Act of 1919 where as C. Rajagopalachari and his supporters were against it.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:
Statement (B) is historically accurate and forms the core reason for the formation of the Swaraj Party. The Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn in February 1922 following the Chauri Chaura incident. This led to a major debate within the Congress about the path forward. One group, the 'Pro-Changers' led by C. R. Das (President) and Motilal Nehru (Secretary), argued that nationalists should participate in the elections to the Legislative Councils established by the Government of India Act, 1919, and use these bodies to expose the flaws of the British government from within. They aimed to ‘wreck the constitution from within.’ The other group, the 'No-Changers' led by C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Dr. Ansari, opposed this entry, advocating for the continuation of Gandhian constructive work and boycott of the Councils. The victory of the No-Changers in the Gaya Congress Session (December 1922) ultimately prompted the Pro-Changers to break away and form the Swaraj Party in January 1923, making statement (B) true.

The incorrect option is 1 (Only (A) is true):
Statement (A) is incorrect because the Swaraj Party, formally the Congress-Khilafat Swarajya Party, was not formed during the Kakinada Congress Session. It was officially formed on 1 January 1923, following the December 1922 Gaya Congress Session, where the Council Entry proposal was defeated. The Kakinada session of the Congress was held much later, towards the end of 1923.

The incorrect option is 3 (Neither (A) nor (B) is true):
This option is wrong because statement (B) accurately reflects the central schism in the Congress regarding Council Entry in the early 1920s, which directly led to the formation of the Swaraj Party. Since statement (B) is correct, this option cannot be selected.

The incorrect option is 4 (Both (A) and (B) are true):
This option is incorrect because while statement (B) is true, statement (A) is false. The party was formed at the beginning of 1923 after the Gaya session, not during the Kakinada session later that year. Since both statements are not true, this option is invalid.