Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said that cooperative model of development is unique in the sense that it puts people and not capital at the centre of development. She was speaking on the occasion of 24th Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture organized every year on the occasion of cooperative week by cooperative giant IFFCO in N Delhi.
Lok Sabha Speaker also released logo of International Year of Cooperative 2012 on this occasion.
“Nehru connected with children effortlessly and when I as a child would go to him with Babuji(Babu Jagjivan Ram) on the occasion of his birth day, he would put a piece of cake in my mouth lovingly. His this connectedness is to explain his love for poor countrymen resulting into his faith in cooperative model of development as panacea of all ills”, she added.
Extolling IFFCO as a cooperative organization which has helped build a self-reliant India in food grains by supplying critical nutrients, she lauded its Managing Director U S Awasthi and his team for making cooperative movement a success story.
“I know Mr Awasthi for 25 years and have often benefitted form his experience”, she said. Iffco is a beacon of hope in India’s cooperative firmament.
One of the focus areas in her lecture was self-help groups. She referred them as critical dimension of human empowerment and wanted established cooperatives to hold their hands to stabilize and grow. Along with Iffco she named many other cooperatives such as Amul, SEWA, dairy cooperative of Bihar, Self-help group of Andhra and women cooperatives of Uttrakashi and lauded their effort in the strengthening of cooperative movement in India.
Professionalize the management of cooperatives, erect cooperative institutions and follow the true tradition of cooperative as envisioned by Nehru was the massage she gave on this occasion. New outlook in government would revitalize cooperative movement and help realize Nehru’s goal, she hoped.
She also gave three important sahakarita awards on this occasion. Iffco sahkarita Ratna Award was given to Sh Ranmal Singh from Rajasthan, Iffco sahkarita Bandhu award was given to D Venkat Rama Reddy and Iffco sahkarita Ratna Award was bestowed on Samar Pal Singh from UP.
Speaking on the occasion Iffco MD, U S Awasthi profusely thanked Smt Meira Kumar. I knew her from the time when in Sasaram district of Bihar I was posted and would often go to meet Babuji (Jagjivan Ram).It is a matter of great pride that as Lok Sabha speaker she has come here to guide us, he added. Emphasizing the role of cooperatives in the growth of country, Dr Awasthi cited the efforts of Iffco’ farm forestry arm IFFDC which has helped thousands of farmers and farm women.