Tide turns against man who humbled Kurien

A majority of GCMMF directors want current chariman Parthi Bhatol out, plan no-confidence motion

For the man who humbled India's "milkman" Verghese Kurien and replaced him four years ago as the Rs 8,000-crore Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation(GCMMF) chairman four years ago with support from a majority of directors, tide seems to have turned for the current chairman Parthi Bhatol.

For over six months now, the majority of directors of the country's biggest cooperative who supported Bhatol against Kurien and again re-elected him as chairman on June 26, 2009, for another term are now demanding his ouster. While some like Moghabhai Desai of Valsad dairy have come out in open writing letters to the state government, others have silently joined the chorus seeking his removal.

But on August 12, all the 10 directors opposed to him announced they don't want Bhatol any longer and submitted a notice for a no-confidence motion against him. The notice will come up for discussion at a special board meeting on August 21.

It was state BJP leaders who had forced Kurien to step down in March 2006. But in case of Bhatol, directors owing allegiance to both the BJP and Congress have teamed up against him. Prominent among them are BJP leader Vipul Chaudhary, heading the Doodhsagar dairy at Mehsana, and Congress MLA Anand Ramsinh Parmarchairman of Amul dairy.

Because of Bhatol's proximity with BJP — his son Vasant Bhatol is a BJP MLA — State Cooperative Minister Dileep Sanghani and former minister of state for home Amit Shah had helped him in getting re-elected as chairman in June 2009. Ruling party bosses helped him subsequently as well when he found himself cornered after he accepted the resignation of GCMMF's former managing director M B Vyas in second week of June.

But with 10 directors including those owing allegiance to BJP having turned openly against him now, it seems unlikely that political bosses will bail him out.

... contd.

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