BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has condemned the Union Finance Ministry's proposal to impose income tax on the profits made by urban cooperative banks.

He said that the proposal should be withdrawn as the banks were slowly recuperating and had to plough back their earnings for extending credit to the needy.

He was inaugurating here on Tuesday the 53rd All India Cooperative Week organised by all the State-level cooperative federations, organisations, Bangalore Urban and Rural cooperative unions, the Cooperation Department, the Bangalore Urban and Rural districts and cooperative societies.

He urged the Centre to join hands with the State Government to help uplift the needy.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said that the levy of tax would kill the Cooperative Movement, particularly when it was readying itself to achieve the second Green Revolution by providing soft loans to farmers. Cooperative organisations needed all support to help weavers, fishermen and women from the weaker sections, he added.

Making a scathing attack on the politicisation of the sector, the Chief Minister said that he was fed up with the silly quarrels among cooperatives. He said that he knew instances of how loans were denied to poor people just because they belonged to a different political party .

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa cautioned the leaders and those engaged in the movement against rebellion by the people if they failed to deliver. Karnataka State Cooperative Federation President G.T. Deve Gowda, MLA, presided over the function. Federation vice-president Subhash Reddy Patil; Registrar of Cooperative Socieities I.R. Perumal; Managing Director B.K. Subhash Chandra; Director of Cooperative Societies Audit Umesh Chandra; and the former Minister Leelavati R. Prasad were present.

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