Maharashtra Chief Minister Defends Nomination of Gokul Dairy Directors Amidst Political Row Nagpur, Maharashtra – Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday that the decision to nominate five directors to the board of Kolhapur’s Gokul Dairy was taken with the consent of Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar. The move comes after the Shiv Sena, a key ally in the BJP‑led Mahayuti coalition, criticised what it called a “power play” over the dairy’s leadership. Fadnavis told reporters that the nomination was made after a joint discussion among the BJP, Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Jan Surajya Party. “When the decision regarding Gokul was made, the BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, and Jan Surajya Party jointly highlighted the statutory deadlock in Gokul,” he said. “Following discussions with the Advocate General and the Law & Judiciary Department, a proposal was drafted. That proposal came after thorough discussions between Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Sunetra Pawar, and myself. The decision was taken by the government as a collective body, so there is no question of any party being pleased or displeased.” The chief minister emphasised that the state government had no intention of forcibly taking control of the dairy. “Since neither side has enough votes to fulfil the quorum and elect the chairman, this decision (of nominating directors) was taken to meet the quorum requirement,” Fadnavis said. He added that the Gokul election is limited to a single district and that the dairy’s influence is confined to a few talukas, so the state government has no need to intervene. Fadnavis called on the two factions that had contested the board election – the Mahayuti panel and the group led by Congress MLC Satej Patil – to resolve the issue among themselves. “If both factions sit together and resolve the issue, the nomination of directors won’t be necessary,” he said. “If Satej Patil’s and Hasan Mushrif’s groups sit together and make a decision, the government will not send anyone. The government only has to fulfil its statutory responsibility.” The dispute centres on the requirement of a quorum for electing the chairman. Fadnavis explained that if a quorum is not present, the chairperson cannot be elected. “If one faction boycotts or remains absent, the election cannot take place,” he said. “On the day of the chairperson’s election, one group was absent, so the election did not occur. When the case went to court, the court directed that the election be held on the 10th. However, the court did not order the election to proceed without a quorum if one is not formed on the 10th. Therefore, the election will not be possible without it.” He added that under Gokul’s regulations, if the election fails three times, all powers would revert to the District Deputy Registrar, meaning elected members would lose their authority. “To ensure a quorum is met and the chairperson can be elected, this law was implemented to grant voting rights to a few people,” Fadnavis said. Satej Patil responded that a quorum is not required for the election of the chairman. “The Chief Minister has raised a statutory issue regarding the quorum. However, our position is that a quorum is not required for the election of the Chairman, and we have stated the same in court as well,” Patil said. He added that if the CM contends that there is a by‑law regarding a quorum, then a quorum of 13 members exists and is already present. “If the CM’s claim is that it is not present, then instead of enacting a law to grant voting rights to additional directors, why did he not pass a law to repeal the rule regarding the quorum?” he asked. Patil said the voters had elected 13 candidates from their alliance. “Now, the 12 directors elected from Mahayuti should attend the meeting on November 10th and facilitate the path for Shashikant Patil—son of the architect of Gokul, the late Anandrao Patil Chuyekar—to become the Chairman. This will certainly uphold democracy and strengthen people’s faith in democracy. Furthermore, over the next five years, all 25 elected directors will work together to ensure justice for 5.5 lakh milk‑producing farmers,” he said.
Article source: Indian Express | Image credit: Indian Express