Pune: Congress leader and MLC Satej Patil on Sunday urged the opposition panel in the Gokul cooperative dairy to “set an ideal precedent” in the cooperative sector by attending the upcoming Oct 29 chairman election meeting and “respecting the voters’ mandate, rather than focusing on technicalities.”He added that their stand could impact Maharashtra politics.Patil spoke to reporters in Pune after being felicitated by the city Congress unit following his panel’s victory.In the high-voltage election, the Patil-led Samvichari Alliance won 13 seats, while the Mahayuti secured 12. Electing the chairman requires a 14-member quorum. If the opposition fails to attend, the election cannot proceed; three consecutive absences will lead to the appointment of an administrator.Additionally, Patil announced that review meetings are underway for a major Congress rally led by Rahul Gandhi at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground in Nov. He also criticised govt’s crop loan restructuring package as ineffective, reiterating the demand for a complete loan waiver for farmers.Clarifying a video from the election result day, which was widely circulated on social media, Patil added that recounting is conducted strictly according to the rules. He explained that the authorities made the decision not to recount, leading to their victory.Patil criticised govt’s delayed trigger and response to farmer issues, questioning why farmers were not alerted about El Nino conditions during the Kharif season. He stated that govt’s Rs 5,000 assistance is a mockery of farmers.Regarding the Nanded farmer’s death, Patil demanded that a culpable homicide case be registered against the microfinance company involved. “There is a lack of govt control and law and order regarding how microfinance companies treat farmers. The state govt should lodge formal complaints with SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).” According to the deceased’s family, recovery agents from the finance company forcibly picked the farmer up from his village market three days before his death and confined him inside their office in Nanded.
