At last an apology from PG Patel and SPMS but …

What I wrote in Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar on 11th October was with a heavy heart. For ten weeks I observed that CB’s pleas were falling on deaf ears. I persuaded CB that if SPMS, which claims to spread the message of that great Son of India, should maintain certain mimimum standards of decency and decorum. The values of Sardar were so meticulously maintained by him that increasingly more and more Indians admire his permanent legacy to India. If SPMS can behave in such an unconstitutional and cavalier manner to someone like CB then what would happen to an ordinary member of the community or organisation.
I would like the readers to know that the assertion by Mr PG Patel, chairman of SPMS, in his first communication dated 21st January was factually incorrect. What he claims to be unanimous vote was misleading to say the least. One of the trustees (Jitubhai) had said no to such a step of removing a life member in such a manner without any show cause notice. Another trustee (JF Patel) had said that no such letters should be written to CB but if need be we should sit down together to discuss and deliberate the situation and thereby remove any misunderstanding.
What is also very sad is that no written response from any of the Executive Committee members was received up until the 5th November. The EC members of SPMS should be well aware of the responsibilities. some claim to be accountants, others claim to be a former local authority councillor, whilst others claim to be very well educated and involved with some public service organisations. None of them have supplied any information which was requested by CB way back on 30th July viz a viz the minutes of the meeting and a copy of the constitution as well as some other relevant details which should have been easily available to all the committee members and especially its Chairman PG Patel.
I have come to know now that at that meeting on 24th June no committee member present (several where not present also) asked for the constitution itself which was not produced at the meeting. Now I also know that the committee members had not been privy to the communication written by PG Patel. Why? What is also very mind-boggling is that the esteemed committee members of such an organisation were behaving in such a cavalier fashion.
Dear readers after my article in Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar on 11th October several readers wrote letters and we were able to publish some of those that came in including those from Lalubhai Parekh, Chunilal Chavda, Ballubhai Patel, Bharatbhai Sachania, Jagdish Ganatra and some others. I am also aware that Mr CJ Rabheru wrote a detailed letter to chairman PJ Patel explaining how a great injustice was being done through an unconstitutional and ill motivated action to terminate membership of a founding member. Similarly Kantibhai Nagda, Dhirubhai Vadera, Pravinbhai Amin and some others wrote to the chairman PG Patel to rectify the injustice he and his committee have done and to salvage the good name of SPMS.
Eventually under such an onslaught of public opinion an emergency meeting of SPMS was held on Sunday 26th October (some four months after the die was cast) to form a mandated committee of six members namely Mahendrabhai C Jadega (Chairman of the sub-committee), Krishnaben Pujara, Jitubhai Patel, JF Patel, GP Desai and Anjanaben Patel with the sole remit to look into the whole situation to resolve this matter and offer the apology. This Committee wrote to CB Patel on the following 5th November: ‘Having gone through all the correspondence we, the Mandated Committee, consider that the Membership Termination Notice sent to you is not valid as per the Constitution of SPMS hence the email of Chairman’s on 21st July 2014 was unconstitutional. We, the Mandated Committee, hereby offer our sincere apology on behalf of the Sardar Patel Memorial Society (UK) for the unconstitutional and drastic action taken to terminate your Membership by our SPMS ECs which was wrong. Notice of Membership Termination is withdrawn hereby with profound regret. We also deeply regret EC’s inability to supply you the information required by you as per your email dated 30th July 2014. We hope this would now conclude this matter and no further action would be initiated by you.
This was signed by all the six afore-mentioned members of the Mandated Committee and was handed over to CB Patel on 8th November in the presence of the six members as well as CJ Rabheru and Kantibhai Nagda. CB and these eight friends discussed how the Society should work to honour the obligations entered into the aims and objects of the Constitution. CB said this apology was not the defeat of anybody but a win win for all and a victory for common sense. This should have happened much much earlier but let’s now work together to do our utmost to serve the legacy of Sardar Patel.
In the meantime on 5th November itself the chairman PG Patel forwarded a separate apology: Dear CB, Further to your recent communication regarding termination of your membership, I have now been advised by SPMS subcommittee that the decision taken by EC Council regarding your termination was not followed constitutionally. I apologise on behalf of SPMS as I was led by the Executive Council. I am sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused. I would like to apologise personally and with your guidance move forward into the next phase of SPMS development. Let me assure you that you are still a founder member of SPMS and look forward to working with you in the near future.
I fail to understand why the chairman PG Patel sent a separate apology which now apportions the main blame to the Executive Council. This sounds confusing and not very honourable but nevertheless it is a fact of life and one has to live with it. Even now the Society has failed to give CB the proper minutes of that fateful meeting of 30th June. Why? What is there for them to hide? Every committee member should remember their obligations and act according to their conscience. If I had not published the story on 11th October the community would not know what is being done under the auspicious of SPMS and perhaps some ordinary members would have been victimised forever.
Several complaints have been made regarding alcohol/wine being served on 31st October celebration of the 139th birthday of Sardar Patel. Chairman PG Patel was sent a letter a week earlier by Dr Subramanian Swamy that he would not come to London to participate in the SPMS event on 31st October. The EC was not frankly and properly informed by Mr PG Patel. Even at 11am on Friday 31st October, a London Asian radio broadcast repeated that Dr Swamy will attend the SPMS event that evening. But why?
Let me end with a small plea to the leaders of all organisations including SPMS. You should have the time, energy, intelligence and sense of your role and responsibility to perform your public duty properly. The leadership should not behave in a shallow, stupid or spiteful manner as has been observed in the letter from CJ Rabheru to chairman PG Patel dated 4th November about how he was treated at the event of 31st October. Very sadly no committee member has responded to the cry in the wilderness from CJ Rabheru who I believe has been treated with vindictiveness for raising his voice in the interest of common sense and justice.
I wish that no such incident happens in the community in the future again.