Chennai, Jan 8 (BPNS)
The opposition AIADMK is planning protests across the state of Tamil Nadu against the DMK government passing a bill reducing the tenure of cooperative bank directors to 3 years from the present 5 years. This is following the state government passing a bill in the assembly on Friday in this regard.
The AIADMK staged a walkout from the assembly on Friday and the leader of opposition in the state assembly and former Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that this was a move by the DMK to wrest control of the cooperatives through fresh elections and that AIADMK would oppose the move stiffly.
Sources in the AIADMK told BPNS that the party high power committee after a meeting at its head office on Friday evening has decided to conduct protests across the state and will soon chalk out strategies of the protest given the surge in Covid -19 cases.
On Friday, the Tamil Nadu minister for Cooperatives, I. Periyasamy moved the bill to amend the Tamil Nadu cooperative societies Act 1983. The bill stated that to improve the efficacy of the cooperative societies, to protect the interest of the cooperative societies, and to streamline its functioning the term of the directors was reduced from the present five years to three years.
The bill also said that several complaints have been received from the general public as well as the members of cooperative societies that massive misappropriation of funds was taking place in these societies and loans were provided with fake jewels as security.
AIADMK said that the state government was in process of dissolving the cooperative societies that were functioning in a transparent manner. Opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that the AIADMK would fight tooth and nail against the DMK move to take control of the societies that are functioning smoothly giving dividends and profits to the members.
DMK cadres in the meanwhile are upbeat that they could get administrative control of these cooperative societies once the elections are announced as at present almost all the cooperative societies are ruled by the AIADMK.
Minister for Cooperatives, I. Periyaswami while speaking to BPNS said, “ The AIADMK is simply creating a bogey. The cooperative Act of 1983 was amended four times in the past and the present government had taken this decision after complaints of massive corruption and misappropriation had come to the notice from across the state. To streamline the functioning of these cooperative societies and to increase accountability such a decision is taken.”
