Mumbai, Nov 5 (PTI) Congress MLA Satej Patil on Thursday accused the Maharashtra government of insulting the people of Kolhapur by trying to take control of Gokul Dairy, and announced a protest march on November 9.
"This is not a personal vendetta against me....it is against the mandate of Kolhapur's people. The government has insulted the people of Kolhapur and hurt their self-respect," he said.
Days after a panel backed by Patil defeated a panel supported by the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti in elections to Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, better known as Gokul Dairy, the government approved the appointment of five government-nominated members to the managing committees of cooperative institutions with annual turnover of more than Rs 500 crore.
Patil alleged that this was a ploy to seize control of Gokul Dairy, and said a protest march would be taken out on November 9 from Dasara Chowk to the district collector's office in Kolhapur against the decision.
His panel had won 13 out of 25 seats in the Gokul election while the rival panel had secured 12 seats, Patil noted, adding that the chairman's election was postponed after the 12 opposition directors did not attend, citing a technical issue related to quorum.
His side then approached the Bombay High Court, which directed that notices be issued to all 25 directors and the chairman's election be held on November 10, the Congress leader said.
The government agreed before the court to hold the election among the 25 directors, and yet the state cabinet on Wednesday decided to appoint four additional directors with voting rights and issued an ordinance, he said.
"The government brought in this law only to take control of Gokul. I condemn this conspiracy," Patil said.
Gokul collects around 20 lakh litres of milk daily from nearly 5.5 lakh farmers and pays them about Rs 100 crore every 10 days, he noted.
The legal battle would continue alongside a public agitation, he said, appealing to Kolhapur residents to participate in the November 9 march.
The government's actions were part of a broader attempt to bring milk cooperatives across states under a common structure, Patil claimed, and referred to the proposed expansion of the Sardar Milk Federation.
Referring to Karnataka's Nandini brand, he said public opposition had prevented a similar attempt there.
Patil also welcomed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's support on the issue.
In a post on X earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi said that milk producers defeated the BJP, so it changed the rules after the election to "steal the majority". This was an "adulteration in the mandate," he wrote.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)