Last week, the leaders of Sahakar Bharati met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam at her office and invited her to participate as the chief guest in a roundtable conference to be organized in Delhi this month.
The issues before the Sahakar Bharati leaders, which they intend to take up during the conference, include long pending demand of building mechanisms for raising funds and capital for co-operatives.
Though the date and venue are to be finalized after the confirmation from the Union Finance Minister, it will be organized any time between 14 to 18 December 2020, said Satish Marathe.
The Sahakar Bharati leaders including one of the founders of Sahakar Bharati and RBI Central Board Director Satish Marathe, National General Secretary Uday Vasudeo Joshi and National Organizing Secretary Sanjay Pachpor were present in the meeting.
Sharing the meeting details with Indian Cooperative on the phone, Satish Marathe said, “We have invited the Union Finance Minister to inaugurate the roundtable conference which is to be organized in the third week of this month. After the confirmation from the Minister, we will finalize the date and venue. As for the venue, it will be Constitution Club or Ashoka Hotel”.
Encouraged by the Minister’s response Marathe said, “I am sure that she will come and inaugurate the conference in which state cooperative registrars, central registrar, advocates, CAs, NCUI Chairman, ICA Regional Director and others will be invited. Former Minister Suresh Prabhu will also be a part of the conference”, he informed.
Marathe further added that, the objective of the conference is to request the government to provide the platform for raising capital for good cooperatives. We have requested the Union Finance Minister to consider our demands.
In the meeting which lasted half an hour, the Minister showed a positive attitude towards our concerns and assured us to participate in the conference and deliberate on the subject. She listened to our issues patiently and looked eager to resolve them, stated Marathe.
Sahakar Bharati which is supposed to be close to the present dispensation, keeps raising crucial co-op issues before the govt. Be it Income Tax issue or CAA, Sahakar Bharati has never flinched from raising voices against its own govt.