KOZHIKODE: Setting aside their political differences for the time being, parties within the LDF and UDF have united “to counter the attempts by the Centre to discredit the cooperative sector in Kerala.”
The BJP, which holds power at the Centre, has been excluded from this collective effort. Interestingly, this common platform has emerged at a time when some Congress leaders are vehemently criticising the CPM regarding corruption allegations at the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank.
CPM leader and Consumerfed chairman M Mehaboob, who serves as the convener of the Cooperative Protection Committee in the district, emphasised, “There is an investment of over two-and-a-half lakh crore rupees in various cooperative institutions in Kerala, and the issue related to Karuvannur bank is just over `100 crore. But it is being exaggerated to dismantle the cooperative sector in Kerala.”
Mehaboob further suggested that the BJP may have a political agenda against the sector, as the strong presence of cooperative banks has hindered the success of new-generation banks in Kerala.
Muhammad Banglath, an IUML leader in Nadapuram and director board member of the Nadapuram Urban Cooperative Bank, stated that while they do not support the wrongdoings at the Karuvannur bank, it is crucial to protect the credibility of cooperative banks in Kerala.
“There is a panic withdrawal of money from cooperative banks in Kozhikode after the media highlighted the irregularities in the Karuvannur bank,” he said. Banglath said the official stand of the IUML will be declared at the party meeting on October 4.