Amit Shah Urges Keralam To Expand Women’s Role In Cooperative Sector

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah called on Keralam to build on its cooperative legacy and expand women’s economic participation.

Speaking at a women’s cooperative event in Kundara, Kollam, on Saturday, Shah asked State Cooperation Minister M Liju to travel to New Delhi and work with the Centre on a detailed plan to strengthen the sector.

The Minister pointed to Keralam’s more than 23,000 cooperative units and its potential in fields such as farming and fisheries. He said the call for a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation had continued since Independence, before the PM Narendra Modi government established one.

“I am requesting the State Cooperation Minister to come to Delhi and work out plans to strengthen the cooperative sector,” he said.

Shah described the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and NAFED as important channels for encouraging women-led businesses. He said NCCF’s retail expansion and the proposed Vanitha She Marts could connect women producers directly with buyers.

The Minister mentioned that Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice had reached Keralam and referred to pulse-seed support for women under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme.

Shah said Keralam’s extensive coastline created scope to grow the fisheries sector through cooperatives. He asked the State Minister to explore ways to bring more fishing-related activities within the cooperative system during the planned Delhi visit.

Shah reached Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday afternoon before taking a helicopter to Kollam for his first public engagement of the visit.

The event, titled Sahkar Se Samriddhi, focused on increasing women’s participation in cooperatives.

Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi, State Cooperation and Excise Minister Shiju, Tourism and Culture Minister PC Vishnunath, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Kollam MP NK Premachandran attended.

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