Fadnavis defends appointing five directors to Gokul after talks with Shinde and Sunetra Pawar

Politics in the state has heated up over developments following the election of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Union, known as Gokul Dudh Sangh. The state government has decided to appoint five directors to Gokul. The Shinde faction had sharply criticised the government over this, saying there should be no politics in Gokul and that the people's verdict must be respected.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has responded to the Shinde faction's reaction. He claimed the decision was taken with the consent of Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.

In the Gokul election, the panel led by Satej Patil won 13 of the 25 seats. The Mahayuti suffered a major setback and could win only 12 seats. The confusion over choosing directors deepened after that. The government has now appointed five directors, which has further heated the political climate.

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Fadnavis said: "If the quorum is not complete, the chairman cannot be elected. If one faction boycotts or stays absent, the chairman cannot be chosen. A faction was absent on the day of the chairman's election, so that election could not be held. When the matter went to court, the court asked for the election to be held on the 10th. But the court has not said that if there is no quorum on the 10th, the election should be held without one. So this election will not be possible. Under Gokul's law and rules, if the election cannot be held in this manner three times, all powers go to the DDR. The elected members will then not have those powers. So this law has been made to give some people voting rights so that the quorum can be completed and the chairman elected."

Fadnavis said that because of this legal question, neither side has enough votes to complete the quorum. The decision was taken only to complete the quorum. According to him, it is a wrong impression that the state government wants to take over Gokul. He said the Gokul election is limited to one district. Gokul has influence in some talukas, but it is not the case that the state government is restless over one institution, he said.

Fadnavis also said the government does not need to do any of this. If both factions sit down and decide, these appointees will not be needed. If the factions of Satej Patil and Hasan Mushrif decide together, the government will not send anyone. He made it clear that the government only has to discharge its statutory responsibility.

He said that if meetings keep getting postponed for want of a quorum, all powers will come back to the government. According to Fadnavis, if the government had wanted to take over, it would have proceeded through the DDR. He said Gokul is not a big institution and the state government has no interest in taking it over. He said it was not right to give the Gokul election a political colour, and that both factions should sit together and find a solution.

Fadnavis said that at the time of the decision, the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the Nationalist Congress Party and Jan Surajya Party came together and said there was such a statutory complication in Gokul. The Advocate General and the Law and Judiciary Department were then consulted. According to him, the proposal that emerged came after discussion among Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Sunetra Pawar and himself. Fadnavis said the decision is being taken as the government, so there is no question of any party's consent or displeasure.