Sahakar Bharati and the BJP govt in Uttar Pradesh seem to speak the same language- freeing state co-operatives from the clutches of Samajwadi Party. Sahakar Bharati’s senior functionary Vijay Dewangan spoke a language in Lucknow as was done earlier by the state cooperative minister Mr Mukut Verma.
Dewangan told journalists in Lucknow that Sahakar Bharati would strive for transparency, probity and democracy in the cooperative sector and ensure politicians’ are not allowed to control cooperative bodies again in the state. In Sahakar Bharti’s view, nothing short of a thorough overhaul could bring the cooperative sector back on the rails.
Soon after assuming office the new Cooperative Minister Mr Mukut Verma had told Indian Cooperative of his resolve to clean the cooperative sector. The story was captioned “IC Exclusive: Verma vows to free co-ops of Yadavs’ clutch”.
Vijay also said Sahakar Bharati would fight the cooperative bodies’ elections in UP slated for early next year. A source is quoted saying Sahakar Bharti will soon announce their panel of names for the cooperative elections.
In a bid to expose the vested interests that had converted the cooperative sector into their fief, Sahakar Bharati has urged the Yogi govt to order an inquiry into the recruitment of people in scores of posts over the last years. A formal complaint in this connection has already been lodged with the cooperatives’ dept of the state.
Sahkar Bharti has demanded the establishment of a state cooperative board patterned on the Maharashtra model. They have also demanded the appointment of a full time registrar of cooperative bodies.
Readers would recall that most of cooperatives of the state are being headed by the family members of SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. People in opposition had accused Shiv Pal Yadav-the younger brother of Mulayam of having grabbed all the co-operative positions violating all democratic norms.
Being the cooperative minister in the Akhilesh govt Shiv Pal not only helped his wife and son but even scores of his other distant relatives gain positions of power in the cooperative sector, BJP leaders maintain.
