 "milk")
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has been facing backlash in Karnataka from locals as well as politicians from the Opposition. This comes after the cooperative that sells dairy products under the brand name "Amul" announced last week that it would start selling its products in the state.
On April 5, Amul tweeted, "A new wave of freshness with milk and curd is coming to Bengaluru. More information coming soon. #LaunchAlert"
The main opposition came from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). It sells dairy products in Karnataka under the brand name "Nandini". Reports state that KMF is the second-largest milk procurer in the country.
What is the Amul-Nandini controversy?
Nandini is the largest supplier of milk in Bengaluru. It accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the total market in the city. Opposition parties have said that the entry of Amul is a "conspiracy" to kill the brand Nandini.
Nandini has also kept its price points low at Rs 39 per litre. Amul, however, is expected to enter the state at a higher price point.
"Amul Taaza and Amul Gold, our packet milk brands, will be available for Rs 54 a litre and Rs 64 a litre each in Bengaluru," Jayen Mehta, managing director (MD) of GCMMF told the Financial Express (FE).
The protests are being held in order to protect KMF's place in the state's market. The entry of Amul is being seen as an attempt to trample upon KMF.
GCMMF is India's largest dairy producer. It sells a wide variety of products including milk, curd, chocolates and cream under its brand "Amul". In 2022-23, it registered an 18.5 per cent jump in its turnover to Rs 55,055 crore. In FY24, it is aiming to touch Rs 66,000 crore in revenue.
Last week, it announced its entry in Karnataka via an e-commerce channel. Soon, social media was flooded with hashtags like #SaveNandini and #GobackAmul.
Inauguration of Mandya Dairy and Amit Shah's statement
The protests started after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, late last year, called for a merger between KMF and Amul. While inaugurating a mega-dairy in Madya in Karnataka, Shah said that if Amul and Nandini work jointly, they will be primary dairies in three years. He added that if Karnataka and Gujarat come together, it will benefit the farmers all over the country.
This was seen as a hint towards the "merger" of the two co-operatives. Political parties as well as several experts opposed the merger.
Politics around the Amul-Nandini controversy
On Sunday, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah tweeted, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Is your purpose of coming to Karnataka to give to Karnataka or to loot from Karnataka? You have already stolen banks, ports and airports from Kannadigas. Are you now trying to steal Nandini (KMF) from us?"
"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 of Gujaratis?" he added.
"Instead of giving 2 crore jobs a year to youths, Narendra Modi took away the jobs of Kannadigas from our banks, ports and airports," he further said, "Now Karnataka BJP wants to hurt the prospects of our farmers by giving KMF to Amul."
PM Modi was in Karnataka on Sunday to attend an event commemorating 50 years of "Project Tiger".
Earlier on Saturday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that Nandini was the "pride of Karnataka" and his government had taken all measures to make it number one at a national level.
"Nandini's market reach is wide, there is no need to fear Amul," he said.
State cooperation minister ST Somashekar on Sunday reiterated that there was no proposal to merge KMF with Amul.
"If Amul sells milk online at Rs 57 per litre, we sell it at Rs 39. We are sending our products to Tamil Nadu and other states," he said, adding that it was impossible to erase the Nandini brand.
Nandini gets support from Bengaluru Hotels Association
The Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association also later announced that they will use only Nandini milk to "support the state's (dairy) farmers".
In a statement, the association, without naming Amul, said Kannadigas should only promote Nandini milk products.
"We are all proud of Karnataka's Nandini milk produced by our farmers and it should be encouraged. In our city, clean and delicious coffee stands as the backbone of snacks. And we encourage it with great pride. It is being heard that milk from other states is being shipped to Karnataka recently. We are all Nandini," its statement read.
