Mehsana dairy chairman cries foul

Vipul Chaudhary, the suspended chairman of Dudhsagar Dairy, Mehsana, has alleged that the Gujarat government expelled him because of his association with the Congress.

Chaudhary was sacked yesterday on charges of irregularities in recruitments in Dudhsagar dairy's Manesar unit in Haryana. Dudhsagar Dairy is Asia's largest co-operative dairy and a member of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

The suspension of Chaudhary is the latest development in the war between the GCMMF and Dudhsagar Dairy. Mehsana Dairy or Dudhsagar Dairy has been trying to break itself free from GCMMF by attempting to get itself registered under the Multi-State Co-Operative Federation Act.

Chaudhary said that he was sacked by the government because the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Narendra Modi's government is trying to gain control of the state's co-operative movement. Chaudhary described the suspension as an act of political vendetta by Modi.


PTI adds:The chairman of Mehsana District Milk Producers' Union, one of the largest dairies in Gujarat, was suspended today after allegations were levelled against the Union that it was misguiding farmers and was harming the cooperative sector.

A letter suspending union chairman Vipul Choudhary was sent by the registrar of cooperatives G C Murmu today.

Choudhary said he had received the suspension letter from the registrar suspending him for four years.

He, however, declined to give any reason for his suspension.

Choudhary has called a press conference in Ahmedabad tomorrow afternoon in this regard.

According to sources, the suspension letter comes after Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) had written to the registrar about Mehsana Union's alleged attempt to damage the fabric of co-operatives in the state by misguiding farmers in the region.

The dairy co-operatives in the state have become a battleground since milkman Verghese Kurien bid farewell from GCMMF last year.