The Congress government by amending the Chhattisgarh Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 has denied more than 1 crore farmers and tribes their right to vote in Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) and Large Area Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS), BJP leaders Brijmohan Agrawal and Ajay Chandrakar said on Tuesday.
When the bill was tabled in the House during the Monsoon session (July 20-27), the opposition demanded voting rights but the majority it by voice vote, they said.
“We request the Governor not to sign the bill as it denies the farmers and tribal tendu patta and forest minor produce collectors the right to vote in their primary society. Already, the farmers body has given a memorandum to the Governor,” Agrawal told the media.
The amendment brought by the government has annulled the election process so that even non-members of the society can be appointed through nomination.
This, they argued, would defeat the real crux of the cooperative movement.
Earlier, the election was to be held within six months for the Society and 12 months for the Board but that clause has been deleted. Once nominated, the members can hold the posts for an indefinite period, said Agrawal. Chandrakar said that earlier, in civic body elections also, the right to vote by voters to elect the Mayor was withdrawn. The same was done in the Mandi Act and is now being repeated in the Cooperative Act.