'Reddy is finished, Kwality Walls is chicken'

Verghese Kurien, the father of India's White Revolution, is caught in yet another controversy, this time around he is at loggerheads with the Director of Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), K Prathap Reddy. IRMA was set up by Kurien 25 years ago since he felt the IIMs were not teaching rural management.

While IRMA is gearing up and dressed for its convocation ceremony to be held today, Kurien was found signing certificates for the graduates on Thursday afternoon at his office in IRMA in India's milk town Anand, following a meeting of the board of governors of the premier institute.

While three cases are being heard in two courts including the Gujarat High Court "" one case challenging Kurien's order to terminate Reddy and another challenging the joint charity commissioner's (Vadodara) ruling that Kurien cannot be lifetime chairman of IRMA "" Kurien is unfazed.

In his inimitable style, he says, "Reddy is finished...just like Amul has proved that Kwality Walls is chicken".

How long will the controversy over your IRMA chairmanship continue, and the legal battles carry on?

The controversies will die down shortly. May be before the convocation ceremony starts [today]. Regular activities in IRMA will begin from Monday, the first working day following the convocation.

I am not compromising the interests of IRMA, but there are a few people within the Board of Governors of IRMA who have been creating trouble while compromising IRMA's interests.

They have made an educational institute a place for politicking. This will be stopped.

Is this a conspiracy and who is behind it?

Yes, but this was not an attempt made by some outsiders. I do not want to name the people who have hatched the conspiracy against IRMA and me but they are all members of the Board.

Is Amrita Patel one of the people who wants you out?

Why would she, after all I made Amrita Patel what she is today.

But you had a long battle with her over the issue of corporatisation of dairies.

The fight over dairy corporatisation was over long ago and I won that battle too.

You have been saying that five members of IRMA Board of Governors have ceased to be the members since February 15 "" these members, however, contradict your statement saying that their term was extended. What you have to say?

They all are the who's who of India's education arena but some of them may have some agenda to run a campaign against me as I have grown old.

They have, I repeat, have ceased to be members of the Board since February 15 and it does not matter whether their term was extended in the February 28 board meeting, the minutes of which by the way were not finalised.

As chairman of IRMA, I believe that these people have nothing to do with the Institute and should be treated as outsiders.

You have been the Chairman of GCMMF for a long time as well (the GCMMF markets the Amul brand of products). Where does GCMMF go once Kurien is not there?

Contrary to the allegations earlier levelled against me, I have created a second line, even third and fourth line of management cadres for the Federation, defining who would take charge of Amul and other Federation products in my absence.

Ask B M Vyas, managing director of GCMMF, and he would tell you the strategy has already been drafted for post-Kurien era.

Amul is now a national brand. Any plans to take it global?

We are making a beginning with the neighbouring countries, but have no plans as of today to take it to countries like the US or the UK.

You appear to hate MNCs. Does Amul have the capacity to take the MNCs head-on?

Yes, Amul has proven already that it can take the MNCs like Cadbury's, Nestle, Glaxo and Kwality Walls head on. Amul's market share in most areas across the country is bigger than that of MNCs which have been ruling the Indian consumer market for years.

Indian cooperatives are capable enough to handle the MNCs and desi corporates in spite of the fact that cooperatives were under-estimated by some people earlier.

Now those people also have understood the capabilities of the cooperatives. I have always insisted that the Indian cooperatives could do miracles, and I have been proved correct.

Should you have stepped down from the chairmanship of the GCMMF in view of your age?

Let my critics say whatever they like. I am holding the post of chairman with GCMMF for such a long time because I have been elected by the Board to head the Federation.

Every three years, the Board of the Federation elects me as a chairman as they find me capable enough to run the show and so I am still the chairman. The moment, I will feel that I cannot serve the Federation efficiently as the chairman, I would step down but no one can dictate the terms to me.

This is applicable also for the chairmanship of IRMA. Anyway, the matter is in the courts now and there would be hearings of three cases tomorrow and the controversies would be over, on every issue, whether it was terminating the director or my chairmanship.

Whether my chairmanship was legal or illegal, whether Reddy's termination was legal or illegal, and all that. Reddy is finished like Amul has proved that Kwality Walls is chicken.