SOUTH
In November, Kerala saw state government protesting against the alleged moves of the Centre to destroy cooperative banks in the state. The left parties protested statewide against the 'undemocratic moves' to usurp powers of the cooperative banks and to destabilize them.
Despite all the rhetoric about the autonomy of cooperative banks, the state government opted the ordinance route the other day to dismiss the elected governing bodies of 14 district cooperative banks (DCB). Almost all of them were ruled by pro-UDF councils. The ordinance brought all the DCBs under the direct control of the government through administrator rule.
All except one DCB is under UDF rule. This is a highly undemocratic move, said former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The UDF will oppose the move politically and legally, he added.
The government has multiple goals to achieve through the ordinance to dismiss the DCBs.
But, such ordinances and the political interventions are not new to Kerala. Ordinances to unseat DCB governing bodies happen every time a new government assumes charge. The new government would bring in changes in the voting rights to the coop banks with political goals and to ensure that pro-government administrative bodies get elected.
But this time, the government has multiple goals to achieve through the ordinance. It would mean that the administrator rule in DCBs would be in force for a year. It also ensures mean that the government will have lesser resistance in the formation of the Kerala Bank, the ambitious project to merge all the cooperative banks to form the biggest bank in the state.
If the pro-UDF DCBs oppose the merger of coops, the government would find it a formidable task. The general body of DCB Malappuram had passed a resolution against Kerala Bank last year. If other DCBs follow suit, it would put legal hurdles in the formation of Kerala Bank. By eliminating the administrative bodies of DCBs, the government hopes a smooth sail towards the formation of the apex bank.
By eliminating the administrative bodies of DCBs, the government hopes a smooth sail towards the formation of the apex bank.
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