Gokul row: Video | Dairy farmers and opposition parties stage protest in Maharashtra's Kolhapur

Dairy farmers and opposition parties staged a massive protest in Maharashtras Kolhapur on Monday against the state governments decision to grant voting rights to four nominated directors in the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union popularly known as Gokul reported the PTILed by the Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi the protesters marched towards the District Collectorate with their cattle carrying black flags and banners opposing the governments decisionThe ordinance is expected to alter the balance of power in Gokuls 25member board by increasing the strength of the ruling Mahayutibacked group from 12 to 16 potentially giving it control of the cooperativeGokul boards balance of power at centre of controversyLast week the Maharashtra Cabinet approved the appointment of five governmentnominated members to the managing committees of cooperative institutions with an annual turnover of more than Rs 500 crore excluding district central cooperative banks according to the PTIThousands of dairy farmers took to the streets in Kolhapur to protest against the Maharashtra governments decision to appoint four nominated directors with voting rights to the Gokul Cooperative Milk Federation The Congressled panel won 13 of the 25 elected seats in the recent polls while the BJP secured 12 The protest drew a large turnout even before the march began with farmers and supporters of Satej Patil participating in the demonstration Protesters raised objections to the appointment of the four governmentnominated directors with voting rightsmdash Mid Day mid_day November 9 2026Of these five nominated members four will be entitled to vote in board meetingsThe decision has triggered opposition from the Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi led by Congress MLC Satej PatilThe Aghadi won 13 of the 25 seats in the October 19 elections to Gokul while the Mahayutibacked panel secured 12 seatsThe election result was a setback for the BJPled ruling alliance whose leaders had campaigned together to secure control of the influential cooperative institution which has an annual turnover of more than Rs 4000 crore as per the PTIThe governments latest move has now raised concerns among the opposition that the ruling alliance could gain control of the institution despite losing the electionFarmers cattle and opposition leaders join protestA large number of dairy farmers from across Kolhapur district participated in Mondays demonstration with several bringing their cattle to the streets as a mark of protest the news agency reportedCongress leaders MPs and local lawyers also joined the march carrying black flags and displaying banners against the governments decisionLawyers participating in the agitation said they had joined the protest to defend democratic principles and protect the functioning of cooperative institutionsBefore the march Congress MLC Satej Patil MPs Vishal Patil and Dhairyasheel MohitePatil and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana chief Raju Shetti held a coordination meeting at Patils Ajinkyatara officeHeavy police deployment was maintained along the protest route particularly around the District Collectorate to prevent any untoward incidentAghadi moves Bombay High Court against ordinanceAccording to the PTI the Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi has also challenged the ordinance in the Bombay High Court seeking its revocationThe matter was listed for hearing before the courts Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar bench later on Monday as the Kolhapur bench was closed for a holidayThe legal challenge is aimed at overturning the governments decision to grant voting rights to the nominated directorsSupriya Sule extends support Sharad Pawar monitors protestNCP SP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule extended support to the agitation through a social media postShe said the panel led by Satej Patil had secured a decisive victory in the Gokul elections but the state government was still keen on taking control of the institution the news agency reportedSule also shared a video of NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar watching news coverage of the protest march in KolhapurAccording to Sule Pawar was closely monitoring developments and receiving regular updatesShe said the NCP SP stood with the people of Kolhapur and Gokuls milkproducing farmers in their fight for their legitimate rightswith PTI inputs