Cooperative sector gets further strengthened by working apolitically on secular principles: K.N. Rajanna

Minister for Cooperation K.N. Rajanna on Saturday said the cooperative sector will further get strengthened when it works on secular principles without being influenced by political parties.

Minister for Cooperation K.N. Rajanna on Saturday said the cooperative sector will further get strengthened when it works on secular principles without being influenced by political parties.

Speaking at the State level 71st All India Cooperative Week celebrations organised by Karnataka State Cooperative Federation, Cooperative Marketing Federation, South Canara District Central Cooperative (SCDCC) Bank, and other cooperatives of the region here, Mr. Rajanna said the celebrations become meaningful when even an innocent person from rural area gets benefited by the cooperative movement.

While the late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid a strong foundation for the cooperative movement through the five-year plans, the present Union government by establishing the Cooperation Department at the Central-level under Minister Amit Shah has further strengthened the movement, Mr. Rajanna said. The department at the Centre would ensure uniformity in the functioning of cooperative institutions across the country thereby helping rolling out of information technology-enabled services, he said.

Mr. Rajanna said the young generation should participate in the cooperative movement in large numbers. It was a welcome gesture that people in rural area have extensively been participating in the movement thereby reaping the benefits.

Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader said the cooperative sector has economically empowered women thereby enhancing their self esteem. The sector has also brought in revolutionary changes in rural life, he said.

Speaking after presenting the cooperative awards, Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said cooperative sector has brought in impressive changes in agriculture, trade and commerce sectors. The sector, he said, helps growth of everyone sans jealousy or ill-will.

Federation president and MLA G.T. Deve Gowda regretted that reduction in loan from NABARD to cooperative societies. It was high time that the Centre and NABARD extend more support to the sector.