Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Souharda Cooperative (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was defeated in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, with BJP and JD(S) members voting against it.

The bill received 23 votes in favour and 26 against. The absence of ruling party Members of Legislative Council (MLC) was responsible for the defeat of the bill.

The Karnataka Assembly had passed the bill on Aug 19 and was presented in the council, where it was voted down, much to the embarrassment of the ruling Congress.

Before the vote, Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti presided over a debate where opposition members objected to several provisions.

Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil responded to these objections and said all questions regarding the bill had been clarified.

He said the decision would affect the functioning of co-operative societies and urged members to consider the provisions on merit rather than taking a political view.

Opposition members said they were not opposed to the purpose of the bill but raised concerns about requirements for co-operative societies to keep 20 per cent of deposits in liquid form, classification of their assets as statutory liquid assets, prior approval from the registrar for investments in scheduled banks.

The opposition also opposed amendments to Section 18 of the existing Act relating to investments. They raised concerns about practical issues in filing annual declarations, and the provision for mandatory audits once in three years instead of five years.