Tribhuvandas was from Congress, but BJP respects his work, contribution: MoS

The Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha last week, paves the way for the establishment of the Tribhuvan Sahkari University on the campus of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat, to impart training in the cooperative sector. IRMA was founded by Dr Kurien in 1979.

TMC’s Sagarika Ghose said that Kurien “built and nurtured IRMA” and his “legacy shaped Amul and the milk revolution in India.” “Why is the government reluctant to honour the giant who founded IRMA in 1979? Why is Dr Kurien’s name missing from this University…because he never became part of the BJP ecosystem?” she said, adding that Kurien’s name must find a place in the proposed university.

Alleging that Kurien had been “neglected by this government” and was “completely sidelined,” CPI(M)’s V Sivadasan said that the university should be named the ‘Tribhuvan Kurien University’.

Though Congress members raised other issues regarding the Bill, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, however, said “We approve the setting up of the university, and also approve of the fact that you are naming it after a Congress leader, Tribhuvandas Patel. But you could have set up a university without involving IRMA at all. You can make a cooperative university separately.”

Responding to the discussion, Mohol said: “Why was it named after Tribhuvandas ji? Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel or Tribhuvandas Patel… if they have made important contributions to society, we respect them…Tribhuvandas ji was of the Congress. But we are respecting his work and his contribution, and this should be accepted.”

“In the cooperative sector, Tribhuvandas ji took inspiration from Gandhi ji and Sardar Patel ji, and under his leadership, there was a revolution in dairy sector. There are no two opinions that Kurien ji had a big role to play in the cooperative sector. Members were saying that Kurien was not of the BJP, so his name was not given. Anybody who does important work… the BJP has a tradition of respecting their work, but one person’s name will be given, and the person whose contribution was the biggest in this sector…we have given Tribhuvan das ji’s name,” Mohol said.