The governing bodies of cooperative societies elected during the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) tenure will not be disbanded, Minister for Cooperation C. N. Balakrishnan has said.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme at the Thrissur Press Club here on Thursday, he said disbanding legally elected bodies out of political hostility would break administrative continuity.
“Once elections are over, political divisions have no relevance. Parties and leaders should work in tandem for the benefit of the people,” he added.
Asked on the governance of the department by the LDF, he said, “former Minister G. Sudhakaran was quite able. Some of the steps initiated (by Mr. Sudhakaran), especially in agencies such as Consumerfed, deserve appreciation. Governance cannot be perfect. If there is 90 per cent merit in governance, one need not split hairs over 10 per cent flaws,” he said.
The State government would draw up a special project to revive the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sanghom. Steps would be taken to ensure minimum wages for artisans in the ‘khadi' sector, he said.
Asked to comment on a vigilance investigation against him, he said, “the one-time settlement package was drawn up for the benefit of the poor when I was the president of the district cooperative bank.” District Congress Committee president V. Balaram, Press Club president Joy Mannur, and secretary V.R. Rajamohan were also present.
