Farmers Movement Archive

Cooperation ministry: Amit Shah is not above law, says NCP

A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said that the creation of the new Union cooperation ministry would have an adverse impact on Maharashtra’s cooperative sector, his party on Monday said that no one is above the law be it cooperation minister Amit Shah or anyone else and any attempt to destroy the sector will be opposed by them.From the formation of the cooperation ministry and Shah –the Union home minister – assuming its charge, there are apprehensions in the state’s ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition that the cooperative sector in the state may turn into a new battleground between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the NCP-Congress, with the former trying to end the monopoly of the two parties in the sector. Maharashtra has a strong network of cooperative bodies, which also forms a significant support base for NCP and Congress.NCP’s chief spokesperson and state minority affairs minister Nawab Malik said that BJP leaders are making irresponsible statements as Shah was given the responsibility of the cooperation ministry.“Since Shah took charge of the ministry, a few BJP leaders have been making statements; some of them are even threatening that the leaders and bodies working in the cooperative sector would be in trouble. We would like to tell them that it is a state subject and only multistate cooperative bodies come under the purview of the Centre,” Malik said during a media interaction held on Monday at NCP headquarters.“We also want to inform BJP leaders that no one is above the law, be it Shah or anyone else. It is untrue that if a person becomes a minister then they get all the powers. We want BJP leaders to make comments responsibly,” he added.Malik said the cooperative sector was given the maximum autonomy by bringing the 97th Amendment in the Constitution, when Pawar was the agriculture minister.“The 97th Amendment was made to restrict all types of political and government interferences, and maximum autonomy was provided to the cooperation sector. Moreover, five years’ tenure of an elected body, election process, board of directors etc. everything was clearly defined. Not only this, an election body on the lines of the Election Commission of India (ECI) was also set up for impartial polls. Now if someone wants to strengthen the sector, NCP will support them. But if someone wants to destroy it, then we all will rise against them,” the NCP leader said.Speaking to reporters at Baramati on Sunday, Pawar had refuted apprehensions that the newly formed ministry of cooperation may be used to “hijack the cooperative movement” in Maharashtra.The NCP chief had said that while the concept is not new, forming a ministry at the Centre cannot interfere with the cooperative sector in Maharashtra, which has a strong network of such institutions, with politicians from the Congress and NCP relying on these networks to retain their clout.“As per the Constitution, cooperative institutions registered in a state come under the [jurisdiction of that respective] state,” Pawar said, days after leaders from Congress and NCP were suspicious of the move.He said the ministry is all about multi-state cooperative institutions. “A state cannot control a cooperative institution registered in more than one state, which is called multi-state institution, and the Central government has control over it.”Last week, deputy chief minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar had said, “The intention of the Central government is yet to be clear, but they may have something in their mind. It will be known only after the new legislations are introduced for the sector, just like the three contentious farm laws over which farmers are now protesting for the past eight months.”Madhav Bhandari, vice-president, state BJP unit, said that those who have done something wrong are making noise against the formation of the cooperation ministry. “No BJP leader ever tried to threaten anyone through their statement. Whatever statements were made were only to welcome the formation of the cooperation ministry. Those who have done nothing wrong are quiet. Why are only NCP leaders are making so much noise,” Bhandari said.

Hindustan Times

13-07-2021

Other