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Explainer: What is Amul-Nandini controversy?

Explainer: What is Amul-Nandini controversy?

TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Apr 10, 2023, 18:08 IST

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Explainer: What is Amul-Nandini controversy?

BENGALURU: A massive political slugfest erupted in poll-bound Karnataka amid Amul's entry into Bengaluru market.
State Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Saturday said that the state's dairy cooperative Nandini was a "better brand" than Amul and that there was no need for the latter.
Shivakumar said, "We want to protect our milk and our farmers. 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”.
Extending support to Karnataka milk farmers, the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association (BBHA) has decided to boycott Amul products and use only Nandini dairy products from Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). The move comes amid a controversy over the Gujarat-headquartered Amul’s decision to introduce milk and curds in the Bengaluru market.

Amul milk costs Rs 54 per litre, whereas Nandini orange milk comes at Rs 43. The hoteliers are supporting Nandini not only because of the obvious 11-rupee price advantage but also because they pledge to come to the aid of Karnataka farmers.
Amid a political row over Amul versus Nandini brand, members of a pro-Kannada organisation on Monday staged a demonstration against the Gujarat based dairy cooperative.
Police detained the members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and took them into preventive custody.

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Amul vs Nandini: We want to protect our farmers, says DK Shivakumar

What is Amul-Nandini controversy?

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.
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation announced its plans to sell Amul milk and curd through quick commerce platforms in Bengaluru.
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.
On Monday, in an apparent gesture to express solidarity with the KMF, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar visited a Nandini Milk parlour in Hassan and bought some of its products.
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.
"There is a reduction in milk production in the State from about 90 lakh litres a day to about 75 lakh litres a day due to which some people may be facing scarcity. There is nothing unusual about it," P Nagaraju, Director, BAMUL, told PTI.
Nagaraju said Nandini sends 2.5 lakh litres of milk to Mumbai, 1.5 lakh litres to Hyderabad and another batch of milk to Andhra Pradesh every day for supply to school children of those States. The milk production is now improving, he added.
KSHA president Chandrashekhar Hebbar alleged: "There is an attempt to create scarcity of Nandini in favour of Amul. We get to know this. Nandini Ghee, which is of superior quality, is not available these days".
He claimed that he was buying Nandini Ghee in the "black market".

With inputs from agencies

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