Gokul Dairy row BJP resorting to 'dirty tricks' undermining democracy says Raj Thackeray

Mumbai, Nov 6 (PTI) MNS president Raj Thackeray on Friday accused the BJP of resorting to "dirty tricks" with its decision to appoint five additional directors to the board of Gokul Dairy, and said if the ruling party genuinely respected democracy, it would never have taken such a step.

    Taking to X, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader described the BJP as a "peculiar party" and mocked it for staging "Save Democracy" rallies despite holding power from the grassroots to the national level, calling it an unprecedented move where a governing party marches against the opposition.

    In the recent elections to the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, better known as Gokul Dairy, the Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samavichari Aghadi, backed by Congress MLC Satej Patil, won 13 of the 25 seats. The panel supported by the BJP-led Mahayuti secured 12.

    The chairman’s post has remained vacant because election meetings failed to get the required quorum of 14 directors. The state cabinet has approved a proposal that could fundamentally alter the balance of power in the cooperative, giving the government power to appoint five directors to its board, four of them with voting rights. This will likely tilt the balance at Gokul Dairy in favour of the Mahayuti-backed panel.

    "If the BJP is genuinely so committed to upholding democracy, then why, immediately after 12 candidates from your (BJP) panel and 13 candidates from the Satej Patil panel were elected in the Gokul Dairy elections, did your government appoint five additional directors representing your own government (which is essentially your own party) and grant them voting rights? What exactly are you trying to prove by doing this?" the MNS chief wrote in his post.

    The BJP must stop resorting to dirty tricks and refusing to accept defeat, he remarked, pointing out that the elected candidates had won through a democratic process, contesting elections conducted by secret ballot.

    "If you genuinely respected and cared about democracy, you would never have resorted to such a move. Just because you failed to gain control of Gokul, are you now willing to abandon all your principles? And then, ironically, you organise rallies claiming to be fighting to save democracy," Thackeray said.

    It is astonishing that while Maharashtra is facing a severe water crisis, the BJP is simultaneously suffering from an equally severe shortage of common sense, he wrote.

    While in power, they (BJP) organise rallies claiming to save democracy, yet they themselves will be the ones strangling it, Thackeray claimed.

    During the BJP's tenure, terrorist attacks took place and law and order deteriorated, yet it organises rallies claiming to save the country from terrorism. The country's economy is in a terrible state, so perhaps it will now organise "Save the Economy" rallies as well, he said.

    For 12 years, all opposition parties have tolerated the way the BJP secured a majority, regardless of the means, he said.

    "Now that the people of this country are beginning to shift their support towards the opposition, the BJP must also learn to accept and tolerate this changing political reality," he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)