MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Thursday strongly defended its decision to appoint four voting directors and one government representative to the board of the Gokul Cooperative Milk Federation, maintaining that the move was necessary to break the deadlock over the election of the chairman and prevent the possibility of fresh elections.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif justified the government's intervention, arguing that neither of the two panels had secured a clear majority in the recently concluded Gokul board elections, resulting in a stalemate over the mandatory quorum required to elect the chairman.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for commenting on the controversy, Fadnavis questioned his involvement in an issue concerning a cooperative institution with a limited electoral constituency.
"What a situation Rahul Gandhi has come to! There are merely 4,500 voters in Gokul, and for that, Rahul Gandhi has to sit in Delhi and tweet. Nobody had secured a majority in Gokul. One side had won 13 seats and the other 12 seats. Therefore, the quorum required for the meeting was not being met. The meeting had to be cancelled twice due to a lack of quorum. If the meeting had been cancelled for the third time due to a lack of quorum, the election itself would have been cancelled. That is why the government took the decision," Fadnavis said.
He also expressed confidence in the legal validity of the decision, saying the government had obtained the opinion of the Advocate General before proceeding with the amendment.
"Some people say this decision will not stand in court, while others say it will. The decision was taken only after obtaining the opinion of the Advocate General. But this is not a national issue. Rahul Gandhi is getting involved even in this matter," he added.
Mushrif, meanwhile, said the government's decision was aimed at ensuring the continuity of Gokul's administration and protecting the interests of nearly 5.5 lakh milk producers associated with the cooperative.
The recently concluded board elections resulted in a closely contested outcome, with the Congress-backed panel led by Satej Patil winning 13 of the 25 seats, while the Mahayuti-backed panel secured the remaining 12 seats.
Under Gokul's existing bylaws, a minimum quorum of 14 directors is required to conduct the meeting for the election of the chairman. However, the first meeting, scheduled for October 29, could not proceed as the 12 Mahayuti-backed directors remained absent, leaving only 13 members present. The subsequent meeting also failed to proceed due to the lack of quorum.
Mushrif argued that another failure to complete the election process could have resulted in the appointment of an administrator, potentially leading to fresh elections and disrupting the institution's functioning.
The Maharashtra Cabinet subsequently approved an amendment allowing five government-nominated members to be appointed to the boards of large cooperative institutions meeting specified eligibility criteria. Four nominees will have voting rights, while the fifth will be a government representative. The nominated directors will not be eligible to contest the chairman's election.
Congress said that they had sought the opinion of former Chief Justice of India Satish Gavai, who has clearly said that the Maharashtra government's decision will not stand in the court. He said this is an unconstitutional move.
