Samyukt Kisan Morcha slams the National Cooperation Policy as ‘unconstitutional’
NEW DELHI –The introduction of the National Cooperation Policy (NCP) 2025 by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has triggered a wave of protests and constitutional concerns across the country. The farmers’ umbrella body Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called it a “direct attack on cooperative federalism” and a covert attempt to hand over the country’s cooperative sector to corporate interests.
Unveiled last week (July 24), the policy aims to bring 50 crore citizens under the cooperative umbrella, touting promises of empowerment, inclusivity and modernisation. But critics see it as a centralising manoeuvre that violates the federal structure of the Constitution, undermines the autonomy of state governments, and opens the floodgates for corporate domination in agriculture, dairy, fisheries and other key rural sectors.
Constitutional Violation?
At the heart of the controversy lies a crucial constitutional issue. Cooperative societies, as per Entry 32 of the State List (List II) of the Seventh Schedule, fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the state governments.
Referring to the landmark 2021 Supreme Court verdict on the 97th Constitutional Amendment, SKM points out that the apex court had ruled that the Centre has no authority to legislate on cooperatives operating solely within a single state. The court found that the provisions related to state cooperatives in the amendment were unconstitutional, as they had not been ratified by at least half of the states, as required under Article 368(2).
Yet, the NCP 2025 appears to disregard this judgment. “The Narendra Modi government’s attempt to override the federal character of the Constitution is not just alarming, it is dangerous,” said a SKM spokesperson. “This is a backdoor attempt to control cooperatives from Delhi and to turn them into instruments for corporate profiteering.”
Ignored by Mainstream Media
In a scathing statement, SKM also lashed out at the mainstream media for failing to highlight the constitutional breach posed by the new policy. “Instead of questioning this violation, media outlets are parroting government claims and presenting the policy as a panacea for rural India,” the statement said.
The Union Cooperation Ministry, legally speaking, should be applicable only to Union Territories and multi-state cooperative societies (MSCS). Yet, critics argue, even the existence and operations of MSCS raise constitutional red flags by infringing upon the states’ domain.
No Safeguards for Farmers
Beyond the constitutional concerns, the policy is also under fire for ignoring the lived realities of farmers, workers, and the rural poor. According to SKM, the NCP 2025 offers no concrete mechanisms to protect minimum support price (MSP), minimum wage, or sharing of surplus — key demands of farmers and workers across the country.
“There is no mention of producer and consumer cooperatives, or support for collective farming that can reduce input costs and enhance productivity,” said an SKM-affiliated economist. “Nor is there any blueprint for the modernisation of agriculture through agro-industrial linkages, cooperative marketing, or rural employment generation. The policy is hollow where it matters most.”
Corporatisation in the Guise of Cooperation
While the policy claims to empower tribals, Dalits and women, SKM dismissed these claims as empty rhetoric, lacking any institutional safeguards or financial commitments. The real intent, the organisation alleges, is to integrate cooperative societies and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) into agribusiness supply chains, bypassing traditional intermediaries — but ultimately putting control in the hands of corporate conglomerates.
“The narrative is that cutting intermediaries will benefit farmers. But once corporations dominate the input-output chains, they will dictate prices, control markets, and systematically extract value from rural communities,” the SKM said.
Call for Cooperative Federalism
In a strong rebuke, the SKM urged the BJP-RSS leadership to stop weaponising cooperatives for electoral and corporate gain. “If the Union Government is truly committed to farmers and workers, it should empower state governments, devolve 50% of cooperative resources, and provide the funding needed to modernise local cooperatives in a decentralised, democratic manner,” the statement added.
The SKM stressed that both Union and state governments must jointly regulate the private sector, especially in rural industries, to ensure that minimum wage laws and MSP guarantees are enforced and not left to the whims of the market.
‘Corporations Quit India’ on August 13
Warning of a nationwide movement, SKM announced a mass mobilisation on August 13 under the banner “Corporations Quit India”, drawing parallels with the 1942 anti-colonial struggle. The protest aims to resist what SKM calls the “neo-colonial” capture of rural India by corporate power through government-backed legal architecture.
SKM has appealed to all political parties, trade unions, state governments, and civil society organisations to join hands and reject the National Cooperation Policy 2025. “This is not just about cooperatives. It’s about the soul of Indian federalism, the rights of states, and the livelihoods of India’s working people,” the organisation asserted.
As the countdown to August 13 begins, all eyes will be on how opposition parties, state governments, and people’s movements respond to what is increasingly being seen not just as a policy dispute, but as a battle over the very structure of India’s democracy.
