We had earlier shown you a part of IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi’s interview on the biggest cooperative elections being conducted by IFFCO in more than 36 thousand co-op societies associated with it. Now we show you the full interview.
Dr Awasthi has touched upon several issues in this interview. He tells how efforts have been put in by the IFFCO to keep the process fair and transparent. “There was not even a day’s delay in the election and the results were immediately shared on WAP”, MD said recounting several technological interventions to ensure the highest transparency possible in any elections. “Nobody could have manipulated the RGB elections given the measures we had adopted”, he added.
IFFCO MD also said though he would have liked to take the help of Election Authority, had it been in place( CAA 97 postulates a neutral election body) but IFFCO is having a Returning Officer of its own who is not only a senior Advocate in the Supreme Court but also a former judge. “He is as good and fair as an Election Authority could be”, Awasthi claimed. “There is zero interference from our side in the election process”, he assured on the basis of the fact that not even one single complaint was reported from any parts of the country in the RGB elections.
On the issue of inconvenient cooperators not given nomination papers on one pretext or the other (this is common in cooperative elections) IFFCO MD said there were more than 12 nominations for each seat. Even in the Board’s elections each constituency has had more than a dozen nomination papers for any one wishing to try his luck, he said.
Not only that, IFFCO has printed more than 1200 voter lists and has sent them to the state election office for anybody wishing to buy them at a nominal rate of Rs 100, stated Awasthi.
Awasthi also sounded excited over the enthusiasm shown by women this time. There was such a keen contest as several women cooperators took part in this elections, he said. This time about 46 of them have been elected but I am sure by the next election there would be no less than 50, he stated.
IFFCO MD also sounded concerned for the sanctity of the institution. We have come a long way and IFFCO stands proudly as a successful cooperative and so the canvassing and campaigning should not go below a decent level, he felt.
We are showing you the entire interview now. We regret some technical glitches that happened during the recording. We have tried to give slug at places where sound echoes are present and this detailed write-up is also aimed at making his message clear to the readers.
Watch the video
