Nasik/Mumbai, Jan 25: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Friday criticized veteran politician Sharad Pawar, accusing him of failing to develop Maharashtra’s cooperative sector during his tenure as Agriculture Minister. Shah also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resolving key issues in the state’s sugar cooperatives.
Speaking at a Cooperatives Conference in Nashik, Shah questioned Pawar’s contributions to the sector. “Pawar sahab, you were the Agriculture Minister of India for 10 years. At that time, this Cooperative Ministry was under your charge. Now give an account to the people of Maharashtra,” he said. “What have you done for the sugar mills? What have you done for the farmers? Being a marketer is not enough to become a leader. You have to work on the ground, Pawar sahab.”
Shah highlighted that for years, Maharashtra’s cooperative sugar factories faced tax disputes, which were resolved under the Modi-led BJP government. “For several years, there was a dispute over the tax on cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra. But the BJP government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, resolved this issue,” Shah said. He also credited Modi for the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation, calling it a 75-year-old demand that had finally been fulfilled.
The event in Nashik was attended by several senior leaders, including Union Minister of State for Cooperation Muralidhar Mohal, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and former NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
Later in the day, Shah traveled to Mumbai to inaugurate the celebrations marking the International Year of Cooperatives 2025. He announced a 12-month-long programme to promote and strengthen cooperative movements in India. During the event, Shah also inaugurated the corporate office of the National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC), which aims to enhance urban cooperative banking.
Shah outlined plans to modernize cooperative banking services over the next three years. “In the next three years, all our scheduled cooperative banks will be equipped with services equivalent to those offered by national and private banks, which will significantly expand the scope of their services,” he said. Key focus areas of the initiative include better utilization of resources, improvement in banking processes, and unification of accounting systems in cooperative banks.
