Kolhapur, Nov 9: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday cleared the way for the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union — the Gokul Dairy — chairman election to be held as scheduled on Tuesday, November 10, but directed that the votes of the four newly appointed government expert directors be kept sealed and secret until the court decides the validity of the state ordinance, news agency IANS reported.

Source: IANS

The ruling is the latest major development in a row Awaaz Punjab has been tracking since last week, when the state cabinet approved voting rights for nominee directors on big cooperative boards and the Governor then promulgated an ordinance under Section 73AAA of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, bringing the change into force. In the Gokul board elections, the Congress-led alliance won 13 of the 25 seats against the ruling Mahayuti's 12, but a quorum of 14 members is required to elect the chairman, and the election meeting had already been cancelled twice for want of quorum.

The Maharashtra Dairy Development Department on Monday named the four expert directors — retired banking official Shivaji Dinkar Adnaik of Yavluj, medical and sector expert Dr Pravinchandra Hendre of Kolhapur, chartered accountant Krishnat D Patil of Kenwade and legal expert Adv Prashant Patole of Sangli — and also named Assistant Registrar Krishna Thackeray as the government's ex-officio representative. The court ordered complete videography of the voting to ensure transparency, and fixed November 25 as the next hearing date to adjudicate the constitutional validity and legality of the ordinance.

Source: IANS

Senior advocates for the petitioners argued in court that issuing such an ordinance on the eve of a scheduled election undermines the democratic framework of cooperative institutions, while government counsels maintained the appointments are legally valid and aimed at administrative efficiency. Congress MLA Satej Patil, who led the opposition panel, has alleged that the move overrides the mandate of 5.5 lakh dairy farmers and termed the post-election rule change an assault on cooperative democracy; Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also accused the BJP-led government of attempting to take control of the Gokul Milk Union by changing the rules after its panel lost, PTI reported. These are allegations by the opposition, which the government denies.

Source: PTI via Devdiscourse

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rejected the takeover allegations, saying the nominations were a technical step to resolve the quorum crisis that had stalled the chairman's election, that neither group had the numbers to complete the quorum on its own, and that the ordinance was issued after consulting the Advocate General of Maharashtra.

Outside the court, thousands of farmers, dairy producers and opposition leaders joined a Sangharsh Morcha from Dasra Chowk to the District Collector's office in Kolhapur on Monday, led by Congress MLA Satej Patil and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder Raju Shetti, demanding immediate withdrawal of the ordinance. Protesters allege the ordinance — which applies to cooperative institutions with turnover above Rs 500 crore — was engineered to capture the Rs 3,000-crore Gokul Milk Union; the state government had not formally responded to the rally, reports said. All eyes now turn to Tuesday's vote, whose final outcome will remain contingent on the November 25 hearing.

Source: Nation Press