India approves five government nominees for large cooperatives amid Gokul dispute
The cabinet decision, taken on Wednesday, provides for five state-nominated members on the managing committees of cooperative institutions with yearly turnover exceeding 5 billion rupees. District central cooperative banks are excluded. Of the five nominees, four will have voting rights on the board. Opposition leaders objected to the provision’s potential effect on the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, commonly called Gokul Dairy, where an election has left rival political groups separated by one seat.
Voting on October 19 gave the Congress-led panel 13 places on the 25-member board, against 12 for the Mahayuti alliance, according to Khera. Gokul has still not elected a chairman: directors supported by Mahayuti have missed the election meetings, preventing the board from reaching its required quorum of 14. The Bombay High Court ordered another election for the chairmanship on November 10.
Gandhi intervened on Wednesday by sharing Khera’s post on X. He alleged that the BJP had changed the rules following its defeat by milk producers and was seeking to add four directors to increase its side’s strength from 12 to 16. He characterised the proposed change as a theft of producers’ votes and accused the BJP of resorting to such measures to retain power. He also warned that farmers would remember those responsible.
Khera alleged that legislative changes were being used to reshape Gokul’s elected board. In his account, the cabinet had approved four voting nominees rather than allowing the existing board to proceed with its work. He questioned whether a government could revise election rules because it disliked the outcome, and said the Supreme Court challenge sought to protect both the electoral mandate and cooperative institutions’ autonomy.
On Thursday, Rohit Pawar, an NCP (SP) member of Maharashtra’s legislative assembly, called on supporters of democracy and the Constitution to surround Gokul during the chairman’s election. Writing on X, he alleged that the appointments were intended to secure control despite a mandate from 550,000 members for a panel supported by a Congress leader. He urged people to assemble outside the dairy so their message would reach Mumbai and Delhi.
Pawar expressed support for Gokul’s members and senior Congress leader Satej Patil. Congress and the NCP (SP) are partners in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. Pawar asserted that Maharashtra stood behind them and said the dispute concerned all those committed to democracy and the Constitution, rather than only Patil or Kolhapur. He described the decision to introduce nominees as creating anarchy.
In a further criticism directed indirectly at the BJP, Pawar attributed the move to the wounded pride of those unable to hold a victory procession in Kolhapur when the results were announced. He asked whether the government would now use nominated members to manipulate voters’ choices. Pawar also claimed that similar methods could be attempted after a defeat in a future Lok Sabha election.
