NAFED board meeting on 19th proved to be a damp squib. Members rallied around the Chairman Bijender Singh who made a bid to resign. Members, according to sources said that we all will resign if the Chairman makes a move to that effect. People aware with Nafed politics say that it was a well-thought out strategy to save Bijender Singh.
However, the Board agreed to allow 51 percent of government equity,another condition government has laid out under bail out package. Readers may be aware after the arbitrary sacking of C V Anand Bose, another IAS officer of 1984 batch Mr Sanjiv Chopra joined Nafed as MD. It is said that government had worked out a formula wherein both the MD and the Chairman will go from NAFED. Mr Bose left after being promoted as secretary but the Chairman Mr Bijender Singh is employing all tricks in the bag to stay on.
It is also known that after the Indiancooperative.com raised the issue of additional share capital amount not being by members, a new date for the submission of same has been set.
Now the ball is in the court of agriculture ministry. Sharad Pawar, the Union agriculture Minister will have to take the call to solve Nafed impasse.