Governor returns two more bills, seeks clarification

BENGALURU: Amid a tussle between the state government and Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, he has now sent back two bills related to cooperative societies, seeking clarification from the state government.

The bills in question are the Karnataka Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2024, and the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The Governor has raised objections to the amendment that allows for the nomination of members to cooperative societies based on reservation. He stated that providing voting rights to nominated members is not the correct procedure, as it could lead to control of the society. The rights of elected members will be taken away. This is a step to weaken the autonomy of the cooperative sector, he said.

Additionally, the Governor questioned the proposal to abolish the Cooperative Election Authority, which is responsible for conducting free and fair elections in cooperative societies. He argued that abolishing the authority due to financial burden is not appropriate.