Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
Members of pro Kannada organisation 'Kannada Rakshana Vedike' raise slogans during a protest amid reports claiming the entry of Amul products in Karnataka market, in Bangalore. They staged their protest at the Mysore Bank Circle in the city, according to media reports.
During their protest, the activists called for a boycott of Amul products to protect the Nandini brand of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). A political slugfest broke out between the ruling BJP, and opposition Congress and JD(S) on April 8 over the "threat" to Karnataka Milk Federation's famed dairy brand 'Nandini' following Amul's entry to the state.
In an apparent gesture to express solidarity with the KMF, Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar visited a Nandini Milk parlour in Hassan and bought some of its products. The ruling BJP in the State and the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have been engaged in a war of words in recent days after the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation announced its plans to sell Amul milk and curd through quick commerce platforms in Bengaluru.
The protesters threw Amul products on the road, protesting the ‘conspiracy’ of the Union government to merge KMF with the Gujarat-based Amul. Leaders of the Congress and JD (S) criticised the move saying it would hurt the interests of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which owns Nandini brand.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Sunday said: "It was Gujarat's Baroda Bank that subsumed our Vijaya Bank. Ports and Airports were handed over to Gujarat's Adani. Now, Amul from Gujarat is planning to eat our KMF (Nandini). Mr Narendra Modi, are we the enemies for Gujaratis?" Hitting back at the Congress, the BJP’s IT Cell in-charge Amit Malviya said Amul and the KMF are neither merging, nor Amul is entering Karnataka.
"KMF is nation’s second largest milk cooperative. KMF has depots in Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. 15% of KMF’s total sales is outside Karnataka. Nandini is exported to Singapore, UAE and many other countries. Amul and KMF are NOT merging,” Malviya tweeted on Sunday. He slammed the Congress for "spreading lies" against his party’s government in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the Bangalore Milk Union Limited (BAMUL), part of KMF, said milk production has come down in the State due to the onset of summer. However, the Karnataka State Hotels’ Association (KSHA) alleged that an "artificial scarcity" of Nandini products has been created to "favour" Amul in Karnataka. KMF is the nation's second largest milk cooperative and has depots in Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
