NEW DELHI: Commenting on the Nandini controversy, Karnataka chief minister accused Congress and JD(S) of doing ‘politics’ over it.
“Nandini is a very good brand of our State…Congress and JD(S) are doing politics at the time of elections,” Bommai said in Delhi on Monday.
With elections around the corner, there has been mudslinging going on in Karnataka between BJP and its political rivals over Nadini, the brand owned by Karnataka Milk Federation, a federation of milk producers under the ownership Karnataka Ministry of Cooperation.
The controversy is over the alleged ‘entry’ of Amul, another milk cooperative based in BJP-ruled Gujarat. On Sunday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Karnataka, whipping up the controversy Karnataka opposition leader Siddaramaiah asked him a rhetorical question through Twitter: ” Are you now trying to steal Nandini(KMF) from us?.
In another tweet, he alleged that the State’s milk product was affected since the day union cooperative minister Amit Sha spoke about the possibility of a merger between the Karnataka Milk Federation and Amul.
In a show of support for Nandini, Congress Karnataka Chief D K Shivakumar on Monday visited one of its milk parlours in the Hasan district of Karnataka. He claimed that Nandini is better than Amul and he was seen buying and consuming Nandini products.
“We already have Nandini which is a better brand than Amul…We don’t need any Amul…our water, our milk, and our soil is strong,” Shivakumar told ANI.
“In Karnataka, it’s a question of our farmer’s rights. More than 70 lakh farmers produce milk and give it to Nandini. Gujarat’s Amul is also by farmers. But it’s not right to push Amul forward and Nandini back. Their (BJP) government has not provided any help to farmers. We have to save our product and our farmers,” Shivakumar further said Amul recently announced that it will sell dairy products in Bengaluru.
The announcement has caused some protests in the State. Police detained workers of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike in Bengaluru, who protested over Amul’s entry into the State.
Responding to the allegations bJP accused Congress of running a misinformation campaign on this.
“There is a reason why India doesn’t TRUST Congress. They LIE! Latest being the misinformation campaign that Karnataka Milk Federation, which owns Nandini, is going to merge with Amul. Here are the facts – BJP has done far more to strengthen KMF and make Nandini a global brand,” BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted on Sunday.
Malviya in a series of tweets clarified that Amul will not be entering Karnataka and that both Amul and KMF sell their products across quick-commerce platforms.
“Amul is NOT entering Karnataka – Both Amul and KMF sell their products across quick-commerce platforms – KMF’s turnover went up by 10,000 crores after BJP came to power in 2019. In 2022, turnover stood at 25,000 crores, of which 20,000 crore went back to farmers of Karnataka,” he Tweeted. (ANI).