In a rather regressive move Maharashtra govt is mulling over the idea of reservation in such co-op banks as have no govt share capital, media reports say. The case in point is District Co-operative Bank Yavatmal.
Speaking in the State Legislative Council Maharashtra Minister for Revenue Chandra Kant Patil assured the House that the govt is thinking aloud about the idea of enforcing reservation in such co-op bodies where the state govt has no share capital.
Cooperatives are run in the spirit of cooperation and any attempt to introduce caste into it would amount to killing the spirit, felt a number of cooperators Indian Cooperative talked to.
Patil was, however seconded by Co-op Minister Subash Deshmukh who said district co-operative banks are governed by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Revenue minister Chandra Kant Patil said an all-party meeting in this regard will be convened soon. Patil was replying to a question raised by one of the House members on the recruitment in the District Co-operative Bank Yavatmal, in which all the candidates were selected from the open category.
According to the Maharashtra Reservation Act 2004, there cannot be reservation in those DCCBs where Government did not have any share capital. Patil vowed to change the status quo in the matter.
It bears recall that cooperators of Bihar had risen up in arms against the announcement of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi advocating reservation in PACS on the lines of Panchayat and other local bodies. Sensing their anger the Nitish govt gave up the idea.
In the case of Maharashtra also, cooperators are agitated post the Minister’s statement.
