Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the supply of milk to the national capital by the southern state’s cooperative brand, Nandini, in a ceremony attended by Delhi’s Kannadiga community.

The chief minister, however, gave evasive answers when questioned by The Telegraph on why he had opposed milk supply by Gujarat’s Amul in Karnataka last year. “Gujarat is selling milk and milk products in the name of Amul. We are selling in the name of Nandini…. We are selling in district and state headquarters and other countries,” Siddaramaiah said.

Both brands sell milk products across the world but selling milk through cooperatives from other states has been a red rag for states with large cooperatives of their own. Such cooperatives are the backbone of the rural economy. The controversy, which took place when Karnataka was governed by the BJP, was triggered by Union cooperatives minister Amit Shah’s call for cooperation between Amul and Nandini — the two biggest milk producers of India.

Both the Congress and the JDS saw it as a conspiracy by BJP-ruled Gujarat to eliminate its main competitor in the dairy market. Speaking at the launch, Siddaramaiah said: “Gujarat (Amul) procures 300 lakh litres. We (Nandini) procure around 100 lakh litres. If you can’t beat Gujarat, at least you must lift yourself to a position near Gujarat’s.”

The Karnataka government gives an incentive of ₹5 per litre of milk to farmers. The subsidy has led to surplus production which the government distributes among schools. The demand for cow milk is growing and Nandini will sell it for ₹56 a litre, which is ₹2 less than Mother Dairy, the main brand in Delhi.

Animal husbandry secretary Ajay Nagabhushan explained that trucks carrying milk from Karnataka will have the same tamper-proof locks used for the supply of Nandini ghee to the Tirupati temple. “Mothers can rest assured they will get pure milk, at a rate lower than the market price.”

The names of Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Pralhad Joshi were on the invite but they did not attend the event. Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah had met finance minister Sitharaman and asked her to increase the short-term agricultural loan limit for the 2024-25 fiscal.