India, Nov. 5 -- A fortnight after Mahayuti lost the elections to the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, popularly known by its brand name Gokul, the Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, allowing the appointment of five government-nominated directors to the boards of cooperative institutions with an annual turnover exceeding Rs.500 crore. The cabinet has granted voting rights in the election of the chairperson to four of the five nominees.

While the government statement claims that "the move is aimed at improving transparency, professional management and financial accountability in large cooperative institutions while preventing administrative deadloc...