Amid attacks from the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday claimed that “Amul is not entering Karnataka” and asserted that it has done far more than the opposition party to strengthen the Karnataka Milk Federation and its products sold under the brand name Nandini.
“Amul is NOT entering Karnataka. Both Amul and KMF sell their products across quick-commerce platforms. KMF’s turnover went up by (Rs) 10,000 crore after BJP came to power in 2019. In 2022, turnover stood at (Rs) 25,000 crore, of which (Rs) 20,000 crore went back to farmers of Karnataka,” BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted.
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was visiting Karnataka on Sunday, whether the purpose of his visit was “to loot the state”, following Amul’s announcement of its plans to sell milk and curd in the Bengaluru market.
Malviya said, “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… The BJP has done far more to strengthen KMF and make Nandini a global brand.”
KMF is India’s second-largest milk cooperative and has depots in Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
“15 per cent 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 said in another tweet.
He added that Amul, owned by Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation, is not entering Karnataka and that both Amul and KMF sell their products across quick-commerce platforms.
“Under the BJP, Karnataka is a milk surplus state. Dairy farmers are doing very well. Congress, which is shedding crocodile tears for brand Nandini, opposed the anti-cow slaughter bill, approved of our nandinis being slaughtered. BJP plans to make Nandini a bigger brand,” the BJP leader added.
The former chief minister of Karnataka took to Twitter to question the prime minister’s involvement in the alleged impact on the state’s milk production following Union cooperative minister Amit Shah’s comments about a possible merger between the KMF and Amul. The move by Amul has been viewed by many, especially opposition parties, as a threat to KMF’s popular dairy brand ‘Nandini’ and an attempt to overpower KMF amid discussions around its merger with Amul, news agency PTI reported.