The budget presented by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday in Parliament did not offer IT exemption for cooperatives as demanded by the cooperative leaders of the country. Readers would recall meeting of Dr Dinesh, Chief Executive of NCUI and Mr Mukund Abhyankar with the Union Minister in this context as reported earlier in this column.
Cooperators sympathetic to this government hold the view that the UPA had left the present government empty coffers and therefore the govt. could not let go a chance of earning tax at this difficult time. Wait for a couple of years they say the new government would surely help the cooperative sector with IT exemption.
In his budgetary speech Jaitely, however, mentioned cooperative banks and emphasized the need to strengthen them along with RRBs to offer credit to people. Big banks and PSUs do not cover all and there is a need to strengthen the small banks, he said in his speech.
However the govt effort to modernize farm sector and its provision of huge sum amounting to Rs 8 lakh crore towards farm loans is sure to energize the cooperative sector mostly operating in rural India.
One of the senior cooperative leaders leaning Congress said on condition of anonymity “ I had met everybody from officials to the Finance Minister in the UPA dispensation and I could feel they viewed cooperatives as a viable economic model. It is presently being said that only 50 per cent of cooperatives are earning profits meaning only 50 percent of them have to pay tax, the reverse argument was trotted out by the previous govt”.
The fight for cooperative movement is yet not over and a need to mount united pressure on the government is very much there, confided a cooperator.
Very unfortunate and discouraging …..
To be very honest I would urge with far more vigour to the Centre/Parliament/President to seriously take up blatant contempt of Constitution Mandates by State Legislatures/Executive in sheer violation of 97th CAA. MODI SARKAR has consciously reconised FEDERALISM during campaign and now having got a decisive majority on such recognition States must be brought to books. Non compliance of laws in its own interest has traveeled beyond any political framework but atleast they show some respect for the Constitution a hard earned right to have our own constitution.