The RBI’s move to regulate director tenures in co-op banks has sparked

@aspirantai_official

#RBI#CooperativeBanks

The RBI’s move to regulate director tenures in co-op banks has sparked a constitutional tug-of-war — and a former state minister is drawing a bold line in the sand.

S.M. Hebbar, ex-Karnataka minister and chairman of Kanara DCC Bank, argues that election and tenure rules belong firmly under state law, not central banking authority. ‘RBI should regulate money, not mandates,’ he says; pointing to the 1959 Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, which vests democratic control with members and state-appointed election authorities. With over ₹5,000 crore in turnover and a century-old legacy, Kanara DCC Bank is at the heart of this legal storm. The Karnataka High Court has temporarily stayed the RBI’s directive, keeping the dispute alive; and the future of co-op democracy hanging in the balance. The real question? Who gets to decide how cooperative banks are governed; elected members or central regulators?