West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari called for renewed efforts to strengthen the state’s cooperative movement and empower women through cooperative institutions.
Speaking at the anniversary programme of the North 24 Parganas Women’s Cooperative in Madhyamgram, Adhikari said cooperatives must be protected and strengthened to open new avenues for economic growth. He stressed that promoting women-run cooperatives would place greater economic power in women’s hands and advance women’s empowerment.
The Chief Minister alleged that Bengal’s cooperative movement had been neglected over the past 15 years, leaving more than 2,000 of the state’s over 6,000 cooperatives inactive.
He also highlighted the decline of engineering cooperatives, which, he said, previously had a 25% quota in government tenders. Adhikari further alleged that elections to the State Cooperative Bank had not been held for 12 years, while elections in primary cooperative societies had also remained stalled.
Describing cooperatives as the “fourth government” after the Union, state and local governments, he called for stronger, more democratic and vibrant cooperative institutions across Bengal.
