At least 13 of the 16 board members of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the Amul brand milk and its products, have reportedly passed a no-confidence resolution against their Chairman Vipul Choudhary at Anand on Thursday.
Choudhary told Business Line over phone that Kheda District Milk Cooperative Union President Ramsinh Parmar had raised a point-of-order at the Board meeting on the agenda. “I presided over the meeting, asked the Managing Director (R.S. Sodhi) to get the agenda approved by the Chairman and distribute it to the Board members. Thereafter, I adjourned the meeting,” he said, without confirming whether the majority of Board members had passed a resolution against him.
However, both Choudhary and Parmar were not present when the resolution was passed, reports said.
Last month, the Board members, representing district milk unions, had served a no-confidence notice against Choudhary in the wake of his meeting with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi here.
Choudhary, a former Congress leader and currently Chairman of Mehsana Milk Union, had switched allegiance to the ruling BJP a few years ago but was seen warming up again with leaders of his former party.
According to reports, he did so as he is eyeing the chairmanship of National Dairy Development Board whose chief Amrita Patel’s term comes to an end in a couple of months following the extension granted to her recently.
When member-unions revolted against him, Choudhary got a High Court stay on the no-confidence notice on the plea that there was no such provision in the law. However, the Board members met on Thursday and passed the resolution, saying that the court had not prohibited their meeting.