 "Rahul Gandhi, congress")
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised to increase the milk subsidy from the current Rs 5 to Rs 7 per litre, if the party is voted to power in Karnataka in the upcoming assembly elections.
Gandhi made the announcement at a Congress rally at Arasikere in Karnataka's Hassan district. He had earlier promised five more poll guarantees ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka.
Amul vs Nandini controversy
The Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers Union (KMF), which owns India’s second-largest dairy brand Nandini, receives government subsidies for milk supplied to it.
The Congress party has been attacking the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ever since Amul, which is owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, tweeted last month that a wave of freshness was coming to Bengaluru from Kengeri to Whitefield - from the west end of the city to the east - with the hashtag “LaunchAlert.”
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A new wave of freshness with milk and curd is coming
— Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) April 5, 2023
to Bengaluru. More information coming soon. #LaunchAlert pic.twitter.com/q2SCGsmsFP
The well-known dairy brand announced its plans to sell milk and curd in Bengaluru, sparking widespread protests by Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah also claimed that it was a ploy by the BJP to subsume Nandini into Amul.
“Banks built by our elders in Karnataka were eaten up. Now Prime Minister @narendramodi and Union Minister for Cooperation @AmitShah have plotted to adopt our farmer's daily bread Nandini. Watch out Kannadigas...!!," he tweeted.
The Congress party’s plans to increase the subsidy would force milk producers to sell their milk only to the KMF, and if Nandini maintains its current price levels, Amul may find it difficult to increase sales of its milk and curd in the Bengaluru market.
Rahul Gandhi's poll ‘guarantees’
On April 27, Rahul Gandhi announced the fifth poll guarantee of the Congress ahead of the polls. He promised free travel for women in public buses if the party is voted to power in the state.
Congress had already announced four guarantees — 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), and Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), on coming to power in the state.
Karnataka votes on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13. The Congress, which is aiming to return to power in the state, is aiming to win at least 150 seats in the 224-member Assembly.
