Karnataka dairy inauguration: India has a vast geographical extent, and due to the same it becomes a daunting task to introduce tastes of one area with the rest of the country. However, the entire India drinks milk and consumes dairy products, owing to our culture. What will happen if someone properly capitalises the market of dairy? Wouldn’t it be a way to make a fortune? This is what Union Home Minister Amit Shah had suggested to Kannadigas during his Karnataka visit.
Gujarat and Karnataka can transform country’s coop: Shah
The state of Gujarat and Karnataka are leaders of the cooperative dairy sector. Union Home Minister, at the inauguration of the mega dairy of Mandya Milk Union, showed the way for white revolution in the nation.
Union Home Minister Shah said that the leaders of cooperative dairy sectors of Gujarat and Karnataka, Amul and Nandini respectively can come together to work towards the welfare of the country’s milk producers and thereby help in introducing white revolution across the country. Shah added that the Cooperation ministry at the centre will be extending all technical assistance to the Karnataka Milk federation. Along with that, he also vowed of support from the management of Amul.
Shah also shared the ambitious plan of the union government to launch a primary dairy in every panchayat in the country in the next three years. He added that the farmers cooperatives can be a part of this revolution.
Drawing a parallel from Gujarat, Shah said that Amul and Nandini can benefit the country and change its fortune as Amul changed the fortunes of milk cooperatives of Gujarat.
Shah also addressed how the Karnataka dairy sector has changed over the years and pointed out that the mega dairy itself had come up with a cost of Rs 260 crore.
Shah said, “Karnataka used to process 66 kg of milk in 1975 and now 82 lakh kg of milk is processed daily. The milk federation’s turnover has risen from ₹4 crore in 1975 to ₹25,000 crore in 2022. A farmer cooperative gets ₹80 from an income of ₹100.”
Also read: How Dr. Kurien created Amul – one of the most loved brands in India?
Opposition against Shah’s suggestion
The opposition parties in the state of Karnataka have launched a campaign to resist Shah’s suggestion. The Congress and JD(S) have alleged that Union Home and Cooperation minister, Amit Shah’s plan is to weaken Karnataka dairy brand Nandini and merge it with Gujarat’s Amul.
Nandini is the second largest dairy brand in the country after Amul. Owing to this fact, Congress leader Siddaramaiah and JD(S)’s Kumaraswamy have warned the union government of serious consequences if it attempted to undermine Nandini and shovel it under Amul.
CM Bommai clears the fog
After all the baseless allegations by the opposition leaders, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai himself had to clear the matter. CM Bommai has ruled out the merger of Nandini and Amul. He said that Nandini will always maintain its separate identity in “the coming hundred years”
Bommai also launched a scathing attack on the opposition leaders for spreading misinformation. Bommai said, “The merger of Nandini with Amul is a wrong imagination. What to say about those who comment based on their whims and fancies.”
Bommai pointed out that Shah had said that the two giants would “cooperate” in the area of technology and marketing.
There is only one way to grow in the cut throat competition is through complementing each other. However, the opposition, for their petty politics, are inciting the public based on misinformation.
Also read: The story of how farmers of Gujarat defeated dairy behemoth Polson
The politics behind this
But why is the opposition so desperate in Karnataka? It is because the BJP is now eyeing the Vokkaliga belt. Mandya, where Amit Shah launched the mega dairy, happens to be Vokkaliga heartland. Also, the Congress and JD(S) leaders have always enjoyed a strong hold over milk cooperatives. With the entry of Amul and the Cooperation Ministry, the ground is set to shake.
Milk Cooperatives indeed have a strong hold on the rural belt and influence more than 50 seats in the Old Mysuru region, deemed to be a fort of JD(S) and Congress. BJP, which does not have a strong hold over Mandya is looking to gain the same.
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