Centre’s attempts to centralise powers in the cooperative sector not in the best interests of the country: K.N. Balagopal

The BJP-led Union government’s attempts to weaken the cooperative sector through centralisation of powers will significantly affect regional development, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said here on Monday.

Speaking at the Cooperative Expo organised at the Kanakakkunnu grounds here by the Cooperation department, Mr. Balagopal said the unilateral decisions taken by the Union government in the cooperative sector were designed to assume control over the funds in the sector and its vast potential.

The Centre was using multi-state cooperatives to push its policies through in the States. The attempts to centralise powers in the cooperative sector is not in the best interests of the nation, Mr. Balagopal said. The Centre should instead focus on empowering the cooperative sector which can benefit the common people both financially and in terms of employment, he said.

While the cooperative sector are normally seen as credit societies, it can, in fact play a major role in taking the agriculture sector and the production sector forward, Mr. Balagopal said.

Pachamama Coffee

Vijoo Krishnan, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, underscored the need for the cooperatives to expand, drawing attention to the example of the Pachamama Coffee, which is governed through the farmer cooperative business model in the south and central Americas.