Lavdena Bhojyam 2.0

The Maharashtra government is brazenly attempting to subvert the democratic mandate of milk producers at the Gokul Milk Federation by using legislative changes to manipulate the composition of an elected board. In the 19 October elections, the Congress-led panel won 13 of 25 seats, securing a majority over the Mahayuti’s 12. After Mahayuti-backed directors stalled the chairman’s election by remaining absent, the Bombay High Court directed a fresh election on 10 November. Instead of allowing the elected board to function, the state Cabinet has approved a proposal to nominate four government directors with voting rights, potentially altering the electoral arithmetic and overturning the mandate of milk producers. The larger question is whether a government can change the rules after an election simply because it does not like the result. We are challenging this decision in the Supreme Court to defend the democratic mandate and the autonomy of cooperative institutions.