Congress Response to Simon Commission

• The Congress session in Madras (December 1927), meeting under the presidency of M.A. Ansari, decided to boycott the Commission “at every stage and in every form”.
• Meanwhile, Nehru succeeded in getting a snap resolution passed at the session, declaring complete independence as the goal of the Congress.

Response of Other Groups

• Those who decided to support the Congress call of boycott of the Simon Commission included the liberals of the Hindu Mahasabha and the majority faction of the Muslim League under Jinnah.
• The Muslim League had two sessions in 1927 – one under Jinnah at Calcutta, where it was decided to oppose the Simon Commission, and another at Lahore under Muhammad Shafi, who supported the government.
• Some others, such as the Unionists in Punjab and the Justice Party in the south, decided not to boycott the Commission.