Kolhapur, Nov 9 Opposition leaders and dairy farmers staged a massive protest in Kolhapur on Monday against the Maharashtra government’s decision to grant voting rights to four nominated directors in the Gokul milk cooperative, alleging a blatant assault on cooperative democracy.
Taking to the streets with their cattle, protesters marched to the district collectorate led by Congress MLC Satej Patil, NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil, and farmer leader Raju Shetti, who jointly accused the ruling Mahayuti of altering the balance of power after losing the dairy union elections.
Addressing the demonstrators, Satej Patil said the protest in Kolhapur had become an issue concerning the entire state.
He alleged that state ministers Hasan Mushrif and Chandrakant Patil were responsible for the decision to appoint four nominated directors, and accused them of conspiring to weaken democratic institutions and the cooperative sector.
Satej Patil-led Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi won 13 of the 25 seats in the October 19 elections to the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, popularly known as Gokul. The Mahayuti-backed panel won 12, in a blow to the BJP-led ruling alliance, whose leaders had campaigned together in an effort to secure control of the influential cooperative institution, whose annual turnover is more than Rs 4,000 crore.
The state cabinet has approved the appointment of five government-nominated members to the managing committees of cooperative institutions with an annual turnover of over Rs 500 crore, excluding district central cooperative banks. Four of the members will be entitled to vote in the board of directors.
“I am fighting for the interests of 5.5 lakh farmers, while the ruling side is working to get its family members elected,” the Congress leader said, adding that the seeds of a political change in Maharashtra for 2029 had been sown in Kolhapur.
Supporting the agitation, NCP (SP) state chief Jayant Patil claimed the government introduced a provision to grant voting rights to nominated expert directors specifically to overcome the majority secured by Satej Patil’s panel.
“Whenever the ruling side falls short of a majority in a cooperative institution, they create a provision to appoint expert directors with voting rights. This sets a dangerous precedent for cooperative democracy across Maharashtra,” he said, while demanding an immediate withdrawal of the decision.
Former MP and farmer leader Raju Shetti emphasised that Gokul belongs to the dairy farmers of Kolhapur and not to any individual or political party.
He noted that while nominated directors traditionally provide technical and legal guidance, they have never been granted voting rights in cooperative institutions anywhere in the country.
Shetti further questioned the retrospective applicability of the ordinance, arguing that the election notification for the chairman’s post had specified that the process would be conducted under existing laws.
“The ordinance was issued after the ruling side lost the election to manipulate the outcome,” he alleged.
Extending support to the stir, NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, in a social media post, said the panel led by Satej Patil had registered a decisive victory, yet the state government was keen on taking control of the institution.
Sule also posted a video of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, a former Union agriculture minister, watching news coverage of the protest march in Kolhapur. Pawar was closely monitoring the developments and receiving updates every moment, Sule added.
The NCP (SP) supports the people of Kolhapur and Gokul’s milk-producing farmers in their fight for their legitimate rights, she said.
The Bombay High Court, meanwhile, refused to pass any urgent orders staying the ordinance granting voting rights to four directors nominated to the Gokul Dairy board, but said votes cast by them during the November 10 poll for chairman should be kept in a separate ballot box.
(PTI News)
