The TDCC Bank AGM in Thane turned tense after a dispute over the order of photographs in the bank’s annual report escalated into a reported scuffle between members, exposing continuing differences within the BJP-linked groups controlling the Thane-District Central Cooperative Bank.
The annual general meeting was held on Thursday at Gadkari Rangayatan in Thane. According to a report by Loksatta – Thane, former Union minister Kapil Patil objected to Sharad Pawar’s photograph appearing before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s photograph in the annual report. He also questioned why BJP state president and MLA Ravindra Chavan’s photograph had been placed further back.
The dispute was raised at the beginning of the meeting. Patil reportedly asked why Fadnavis had been “insulted” when the BJP was in control of the bank, and sought an explanation for the placement of the photographs. The report said Patil raised his objections from among the members rather than sitting on the dais.
TDCC Bank chairman Arun Patil responded that Sharad Pawar was a senior leader associated with the cooperative sector and that people respected him. The chairman also faced questions over the removal of Pawar’s photograph from the chairman’s office and over the positioning of Chavan’s photograph in the annual report.
The disagreement reflects an earlier contest over control of the cooperative bank. During the TDCC Bank election, Chavan and Kapil Patil had campaigned through the Parivartan panel. The Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had supported the Sahakar panel, which was backed by the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi and BJP MLA Kisan Kathore. The Sahakar panel won the highest number of seats, after which Kathore’s supporter Arun Patil was elected chairman, according to the report.
The latest confrontation therefore involved more than the design of an annual report. The positions of photographs became a visible point of dispute within a cooperative institution whose leadership had emerged from competing political alliances. The reported disagreement also brought questions of representation, authority and control into the formal setting of the bank’s annual meeting.
The exchange reportedly moved from a verbal argument to pushing and shoving in the open area in front of the dais. The incident occurred in front of Kapil Patil and created tension among those attending the meeting. A police team was called to the venue after the confrontation.
The annual general meeting resumed after the police arrived, the Loksatta report said. The supplied report did not provide details of any arrests, injuries, police complaint or formal action by the bank following the incident.
