Congress' Satej Patil accuses Maharashtra govt of changing law to gain control of Gokul dairy, alleges ‘satta chori’

Patil termed the Maharashtra Cabinet’s decision a “dark day” in the state’s history and alleged that the government was trying to hijack the majority secured by his panel through a technical provision.

Congress leader Satej Patil on Thursday accused the Maharashtra government of attempting to take control of the Rs 4,000-crore Gokul cooperative dairy by retrospectively changing the law, alleging that the move was aimed at overturning the mandate secured by his panel in the board elections. Addressing a press conference, Patil termed the Maharashtra Cabinet’s decision a “dark day” in the state’s history and alleged that the government was trying to hijack the majority secured by his panel through a technical provision.

“Yesterday’s cabinet decision in Maharashtra is going to go down as a dark day in the state’s history. On one hand, they refuse to accept the voting mandate, and on the other, they’re trying to hijack the majority we won by using a technical loophole,” he said. Questioning the retrospective implementation of the law, Patil said, “The election was held, voting took place, the result came out, and because it wasn’t in your favour, you want to change the law.”

He claimed that the amended law would apply to Gokul and one or two other federal institutions, while sugar factories and district banks would be excluded. “But when they talk about cooperatives while bringing out this ordinance, this law will only apply to the federal institute—that is, Gokul—and just one or two other institutions in the state. There’s a line in the ordinance saying that sugar factories will be excluded from this. District banks will be excluded too,” Patil said.

Highlighting Gokul’s importance to farmers, Patil said the cooperative supports the livelihoods of 5.5 lakh farmers, collects around 20 lakh litres of milk every day and pays Rs 100 crore to farmers every 10 days. “I want to tell all of you that the livelihoods of 5.5 lakh farmers depend on this. Gokul’s system pays 100 crore rupees every ten days to these 5.5 lakh farmers for their hard work. Every day, 20 lakh liters of milk are collected,” he said.

Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s support for his panel, Patil said Gandhi had posted on X that farmers’ produce should remain in their hands. “Rahulji tweeted and supported our panel, saying that the farmers’ produce should stay in their hands, but the government is rejecting the mandate given by the farmers. This is important because farmers in the country are going through a tough time right now, and they are rejecting the mandate given by the farmers. Rahulji tweeted in our support,” he said.

Patil alleged that Maharashtra Ministers Hasan Mushrif and Chandrakant Patil had taken the lead in changing the law. “Hasan Mushrif and Chandrakant Dada are the ones behind this. I said it in Kolhapur yesterday too. These two were mainly the ones who took the lead here, and this conspiracy to change the law was hatched through them,” he alleged.

Questioning the appointment of nominated members as experts, Patil asked how people rejected by voters could be considered experts. “How can someone rejected by a vote become an expert? If they really were experts, people would have elected them, and they would have made it into your bar too,” he said.

Patil said his panel would pursue a legal battle in the High Court and expressed confidence that it would secure a majority of 13. Referring to the seven-day notice requirement, he said the legal process would continue. He also alleged that 12 members had travelled to Goa, then Surat, and were now in Udaipur, questioning the circumstances in which they were being kept together.

Accusing the government of undermining democracy, Patil said, “Raise your voice against ‘vote chori’; now ‘satta chori’ (power theft) has begun.” He also remarked that he had planned to bring Gokul curd and gulab jamun to the press conference, saying that Amul stickers might be put up everywhere from the following day.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday said politics should not interfere in the cooperative sector while defending the Maharashtra government’s decision to amend the cooperative law amid the deadlock over the election of the chairman of Gokul Dairy. Reacting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s post on Gokul Dairy, Nirupam said the cooperative, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in western Maharashtra, has a turnover of around Rs 3,000-4,000 crore.

“Politics should never interfere with the cooperative sector. Gokul Dairy Cooperative, one of western Maharashtra’s largest dairy cooperatives, has a turnover of around Rs3,000–4,000 crore,” he said. Nirupam alleged that the Congress had hatched a conspiracy to take control of Gokul Dairy and had run an aggressive campaign for the board elections. However, Congress-backed candidates won only 13 of the 25 seats, while candidates linked to the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP secured the remaining 12 seats, he said.

“Congress hatched a major conspiracy to take control of Gokul Dairy and ran an aggressive campaign. Yet, Congress-backed candidates won only 13 of the 25 seats, while 12 candidates linked to the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP also won,” he said. He said that since the election of a chairman requires a two-thirds majority, the Maharashtra government had decided to amend the cooperative law to address the deadlock.

According to Nirupam, the amendment is intended to ensure transparency, prevent corruption and protect the interests of thousands of farmers and dairy workers. “Since electing a chairman requires a two-thirds majority, the Maharashtra government has decided to amend the cooperative law to resolve the deadlock, ensure transparency, prevent corruption and protect the interests of thousands of farmers and dairy workers," he added. (ANI)