Team Herald
CUNCOLIM: In an interesting order, the Co-operative Tribunal has quashed elections to the Board of Directors of Goa Dairy and ordered re-election.
This order is a massive blow to Goa Dairy Chairman Madhav Sahakari, former chairmen Vithoba Dessai, Baburao Fatto and other nine directories who were ‘elected’ unopposed.
The election to the Board of Directors of Goa Dairy was held in January this year, wherein 37 chairmen of various local milk societies that are members of Goa Dairy had filed their nomination papers. During the scrutiny, returning officer had rejected 25 nomination papers of opposition groups allowing the Sahakari panel to get elected unopposed.
Twelve of the 25 members whose nomination papers were rejected had challenged the order of Returning Officer in the High Court, which had stayed the election of Chairman and directed the 12 members to appeal before the Co-operative Tribunal. After hearing the plea on Friday, the Tribunal quashed the elections and ordered re-election to Dairy Board.
The Tribunal found discrepancies in the scrutiny of rejected nomination papers.
After the elections, some of the members had alleged that Registrar of Cooperative Societies, under pressure from Sahakari group and in connivance with the administrative officers of Goa Dairy, had rejected the nomination papers.Meanwhile, Chairman of the Curtorim Milk Cooperative Society who was heading the panel against Sahakari panel and whose nomination paper was rejected, has called for setting aside the whole election procedure and conduct the same afresh.
Alleging huge fraud in election procedure, he has demanded an inquiry into the same to bring the culprits to book.
