Satej Patil accuses state of insulting Kolhapur over Gokul, announces November 9 march

Congress MLA Satej Patil on Thursday accused the Maharashtra government of trying to take over Gokul Dairy and, in doing so, insulting the people of Kolhapur. He announced a protest march on November 9 against the move.

Patil said, "This is not a personal enmity against me, it is against the mandate of the people of Kolhapur. The government has insulted the people of Kolhapur and hurt their self-respect."

The announcement comes days after a panel backed by Patil defeated a panel backed by the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti in the election of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, which runs Gokul Dairy.

The state government subsequently approved the appointment of five government nominees to the managing committees of cooperative bodies with an annual turnover of more than Rs 500 crore. Patil alleged the decision was taken to seize Gokul Dairy. According to him, the march will start from Dasara Chowk on November 9 and go to the District Collector's office in Kolhapur.

Patil said his panel won 13 of the 25 seats in the Gokul election, while the rival panel won 12. The election of the dairy's chairman was postponed because the 12 directors from the opposing camp did not attend the meeting, citing a technical problem relating to quorum.

According to Patil, his side then approached the Bombay High Court. The court directed that notices be sent to all 25 directors and that the chairman's election be held on November 10.

Patil also questioned the Cabinet's decision. He said the government had agreed in court that the election would be held among the 25 directors only. Even so, the state Cabinet on Wednesday decided to appoint four additional directors with voting rights and issued an ordinance. Patil said, "The government has brought this law only to take over Gokul. I condemn this conspiracy."

He said the legal battle would continue alongside an agitation on the streets. He appealed to the people of Kolhapur to join the march on November 9.

Patil also cited figures on Gokul's operations. According to him, Gokul collects about 20 lakh litres of milk a day from roughly 5.5 lakh farmers and pays them about Rs 100 crore every 10 days.

He further alleged that the government's action is part of a larger effort to bring milk cooperatives of different states under a common structure. In this context he mentioned the proposed expansion of Sardar Milk Federation. Citing Karnataka's Nandini brand, Patil said a similar attempt there had been stopped because of public opposition.

Patil welcomed the support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the issue. In a post on X earlier on Thursday, Gandhi said milk producers had defeated the BJP and that after the election the party changed the rules to "steal" the majority. He described the move as "adulteration of the mandate".