MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday hinted at reversing the decision to appoint four nominated directors and grant voting rights to Congress leader Satej Patil to resolve differences with Mahayuti leaders and pave the way for the formation of the governing body of the Gokul Cooperative Milk Federation.
Fadnavis said that if Mahayuti leaders Hasan Mushrif and Vinay Kore, along with Congress leader Satej Patil, sat together and reached an agreement, the state government would not send four nominated members to the Gokul board.
"If they sit together and resolve the issue, and no legal complications arise, the government will not interfere under any circumstances," he said.
In the Gokul election, the Congress-led front won 13 seats, while the BJP-led front secured 12 of the 25 seats on the board. Under the federation's by-laws, at least 14 members must attend the meeting to elect the chairman. However, with only 13 members, the Congress-led front is short of one vote, while the BJP has remained absent from previous meetings. This has created a deadlock over the formation of the governing body.
Fadnavis said the government had no intention of taking control of the Gokul federation.
"The perception that the state government wants to take control of Gokul is completely wrong. Gokul is an institution limited to one district and a few talukas, with around 5,000 voters. There is no reason for the state government to seek control of such a small institution. The government has no interest in sending anyone there. It only wants to fulfil its statutory responsibilities. If meetings had been repeatedly adjourned due to a lack of quorum, the authority would automatically have passed to the government," the Chief Minister said.
The Opposition, however, accused the BJP of undermining democracy.
"The BJP has lost the election and should accept the verdict gracefully. But what CM Fadnavis is suggesting is quite unthinkable. He wants power in Gokul to be shared with Mahayuti leaders even though they lost the election. We want to ask Mr Fadnavis: Congress lost the state and general elections. Has the BJP shared power with Congress and the Opposition? Congress did not have enough MPs in the Lok Sabha, so it was denied the post of Leader of the Opposition. The same was done in both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature by Mr Fadnavis. This amounts to ridiculing the system and the public mandate," said Congress leader Satej Patil.
Fadnavis also clarified that there were no differences among Mahayuti partners over the appointment of four members to the Gokul board.
"The decision to appoint four members to the Gokul board was taken by the Cabinet as a government decision. It was not the decision of any one party but of the Cabinet as a whole. The proposal was made after local leaders of all four parties — BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP and Janasurajya — highlighted the legal complications. The Advocate General and the Law and Judiciary Department were consulted. The proposal was signed by all three leaders after discussions involving Deputy Chief Ministers Sunetra Pawar and Eknath Shinde. Therefore, there is no question of Shiv Sena disagreeing with it," he said.
