Unprecedented enthusiasm seen; Sanghani says history in making

The who’s who of the cooperative sector attended the inaugural ceremony of 17th Indian Cooperative Congress with full zeal and energy on Saturday. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the event at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The delegates from Kashmir to Kanyakumari were in attendance. The hall was packed with co-operators. The scene was like some mela where co-operators could be seen clicking pictures of each other.

It was for the first time that the Prime Minister had come to address them in the Co-op Congress after the formation of the Ministry. Even otherwise, it’s not common that a country’s PM would appear on co-op platforms and this fact spiked enthusiasm among participants.

The event was not only attended by the cooperators from India’s cooperative societies but also by the delegates from Asia-Pacific countries. Dileep Sanghani could be seen getting clicked with ICA AP members such as Iran and Bangladesh. There was a mad rush to have Sanghani in the frame. ICA AP Regional Director Balu Iyer was also sitting comfortably in the front row.

The co-operation ministers from different states were seen sharing seats with cooperators. Uttarakhand cooperative minister Dhan Singh Rawat was lucky to have a seat close to the dais as the last minute race for seats intensified.

Besides the NCUI President and the ICA AP President, the cooperators,who attended the event on behalf of National Level Co-operatives included, Nafed Chairman Bijendra Singh, IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi, Nafcub Chairman Jyotindra Mehta, NCUI GC member GH Amin, Nafcard Chairman Dollar Kotecha, COBI Chairman Ajaybhai Patel, Sahakar Bharati National General Secretary Uday Joshi, Kribhco MD Rajan Chowdhry, Nafscob Chairman Ravinder Rao, , NCCF Chairman Vishal Singh, NCDFI Chairman Mangaljit Rai and several others.

The list also included worthies like Biscomaun Chairman Sunil Kumar Singh, Gujarat State Cooperative Union Chairman GH Amin, MSC Bank Chairman Vidyadhar Anaskar, Cosmos Bank Chairman Milind Kale, Saraswat Bank CGM Ajay Jain, Odisha State Cooperative Bank Chairman Prasad Dora, Sumul Dairy Chairman Maansinhbhai Patel and many others.

The list of cooperators who took part in the event is too long to be mentioned individually. The hall had a capacity of around 3500 but it was fully packed. All the states of the country were represented on this occasion.

The event was presided over by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah. Union Minister of State for Cooperation BL Verma, NCUI President Dileepbhai Sanghani and ICA-AP President Chandra Pal Singh shared the dais with the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

In the meeting the Prime Minister exhorted co-ops to be partners in govt efforts to make India a developed nation. He said when co-ops’ efforts will match that of the government, nothing can stop India from becoming a developed nation. He asked co-ops to be partners in many fields including securing an international market for Millets, taking five villages around itself and converting their farm into chemical free land, opening Amrit Sarovar (ponds) for solving the problem of water conservation.

Union Minister Shah asked the assembly of co-operators present on this occasion to offer standing ovation to the Prime Minister for creating a Separate Ministry and giving a much needed push to the co-op movement in the country.

Dileep Sanghani NCUI President said a history is being created today and promised to Shah that co-ops will play their role in forming 2 lakh co-ops. Sanghani also mentioned IFFCO’s Nano urea and said that the PM’s dream of modern technology in co-ops would be followed in letter and spirit.