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Amit Shah to visit Pune in role as cooperation minister on Nov 26
Union minister Amit Shah will pay a visit to the Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperation (Pune) among other cooperative institutes in Maharashtra on November 26
PUNE: Union minister Amit Shah will pay a visit to the Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperation among other cooperative institutes in Maharashtra on November 26. This will be his first such visit after being appointed minister of cooperation. He is also likely to visit the Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) on the same day.
Shah’s tour has been finalised and its primary report has arrived, according to sources from the administration. Apart from the Vaikunth Mehta Institute, he is also likely to visit the VSI as Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar recently met him and invited him to visit the same. Preparation for the cooperation minister’s Pune visit has already started, and officers from his ministry are visiting the city on November 16 to review arrangements. Shah will be accompanied by the Union secretary for cooperation.
For the first time, the cooperation ministry was set up at the Centre by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah was given charge of the ministry because he has good knowledge of the cooperative movement in Gujarat. As such, he is the first minister to lead the cooperation ministry at the Centre.
With the Congress and NCP widely considered to have led the cooperative movement in Maharashtra, the Centre’s decision was criticised by both parties and Shah’s appointment was seen as a major political move. Sharad Pawar even commented on the move.
Recently, senior BJP leaders Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Harshwardhan Patil who were part of the cooperative movement in Maharashtra under Congress-NCP rule met Shah in Delhi. Given such a backdrop, Shah’s forthcoming visit has raised eyebrows among both the BJP and the opposition.
