PUNE: The cooperative sector is a state subject as per the Indian constitution. The Union government cannot interfere in the cooperative acts of state, which are passed by the state assembly. So even if a new ministry of cooperation at the Centre, it will not hamper the state’s powers or interests in the sector, NCP chief and former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said.
“There are talks in the media that newly formed cooperation ministry will cause hindrance to Maharashtra’s cooperative sector. But these talks make no sense,” he said, while speaking to reporters at his residence in Baramati on Sunday.
On the lines of the announcement in the Union Budget, the government has formed the new ministry. It aims at providing separate administrative, legal and policy framework to strengthen the cooperative movement across the nation.
Pawar ruled out the possibility of the new ministry led by home minister Amit Shah impeding the decision making of the state cooperative sector.
He said the key agenda behind formation of the new ministry appears to focus on the multi-state cooperative units. Such utilities are already being monitored by the Union government, hence the ministry is not novel idea, he added.
He also said that the Congress party will retain the seat for speaker of the house in Maharashtra state assembly. “It is clear to us that position of speaker of the house was with Congress and it will remain with Congress. So, there is no point if others are talking anything different about it. We have accepted the Congress’s leader as a speaker,” he said.
Pawar, on suspension of 12 BJP MLAs from the state assembly following a ruckus, said the action was taken based on what the elected members did in the house. On the Delhi high court’s directives to the Union government on the uniform civil code, Pawar said he will express his opinion once the government comes up with such code.
