JOIN USNew co-operative sector policy in offing: Amit Shah
Unveiling a comprehensive plan and roadmap, Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah on Saturday announced that a new cooperative sector policy would be unveiled soon which would serve the needs of several decades ahead.
Shah said that the cooperative sector is very relevant in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘sabka-saath, sabka vikas’.
“However, to take it ahead we are working on comprehensive which would be announced soon,” Shah said addressing ‘Sahakar Parishad Sammelan’ at Loni in Ahmednagar district which was hosted by senior BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, whose family has started the cooperative movement in India.
“We have to take along everybody and take the movement ahead,” he said.
Taking a dig at the Maha Vikas Aghadi - albeit without naming the alliance, he said, “Why is the state not able to address the issue of sugar mills…why they have to come to Delhi….let us work together and help the sector. Let us not look at political affiliation.”
According to him, the state was issuing bank guarantees to sugar mills which are linked to people of other parties. This practice is not right. The state government needs to rise above politics,” he said, adding that he was not going to be a mute spectator.
“We must know and this needs to be told that 31 per cent of sugar comes from cooperative sugar mills, 20 per cent milk from milk cooperatives. Similarly, for wheat and rice, it is around 13 per cent and 30 per cent,” Shah said.
During this speech, he also highlighted the example of the Amul milk cooperative, Lijjat Papad and IFFCO, the fertiliser cooperative.
“We need to free the cooperative movement of shortcomings. There was a time when district cooperative banks of Maharashtra were looked up to, but today there are only three left. How did scams involving crores of money happen? Did RBI do it? No RBI didn't do it," he added.
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