The names of those against whom recovery orders have been served by the court of Central Registrar in NAFED episode are out. There are 25 persons in all, nine of them being high profile cooperative leaders and rest being the officials of NAFED.
It is a strange story of open loot in which cooperators connived with officials to maim a great cooperative institution to virtual death. And the entire cooperative fraternity of the country is looking aghast to a saga which calls for severest criticism. They must dissociate themselves from those who are found guilty in the case, for a movement is run by leaders not by government.
Voices are getting louder that those involved should quit all cooperative boards. They are citing section 43(1) (h) of MSCS Act, 2002. According to this Act no member of any multi state cooperative society or nominee of member society or a national cooperative society shall be eligible for being chosen as, or for being a member of the board of such multi state cooperative society or a national cooperative society or of any other cooperative society to which the multi state cooperative society is affiliated, if such member is a person against whom any amount due under a decree, decision or order is pending recovery under this act.
The top leaders whose name figure in the list are Meena Singh,an MP from Nitish Kumar’s JDU and wife of late Ajit Singh, during whose tenure the loot was perpetrated. Second name is that of Vishal Singh, son of Ajit Singh who presently holds board membership of not one but two multi state cooperatives—NAFED and NCCF. He has also secured a seat in the governing council of apex cooperative organization NCUI by sideling a timid NCCF Chairman Birendra Singh.
C V Holkar is the third name in the list. Holkar was vice chairman at the time tie-up business were being struck. He continues to be on the board of NAFED till date. The fourth name is that of Bijender Singh, the present Chairman. Mr Singh is a high profile cooperator who also happens to be Congress MLA from Nagloi, a West Delhi constituency. He is Chairman of National Federation of State Cooperative Bank (nafscob) as well as Chairman of Delhi State Cooperative Bank.
Two other names in the list about whom Indiancooperative.com is not sure are alleged to be former Ministers of Karnataka cabinet.
Seventh name in the list is that of Sriniwasa Gowda who is member of board of cooperative giant IFFCO. Recently IFFCO lost an opportunity to represent India at ICA Board due to Gowda being tainted in NAFED affairs. The international forum asked the tainted leader to quit the race causing serious embarrassment to IFFCO in particular and India in general and IFFCO in particular. IFFCO sources confided to Indiancooperative.com that Gowda did not share his secrets with it.
There are many other names of cooperative leaders as well as IAS official such as Alok Ranjan and IRS officer Homi Rajvansh against whom recovery dues have been ordered. There are many nafed officials at the level of branch manager and account officers who are also in net. In the case of officials, law would indeed take its course as Homi Rajvansh was earlier arrested from Agra.
But this is high time cooperators should soul-search and brain-storm on how a credible cooperative movement is possible in the country underlining honesty and selflessness.