Surat: With elections round the corner in Karnataka where BJP is seeking for a second term, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel attempted to defuse tensions amid Amul vs Nandini imbroglio by saying that it was unnecessary to boycott Amul products in the southern state.
The Opposition in Karnataka has been accusing the saffron party of pitting the Gujarat milk cooperative society against its homegrown Nandini. Dairy farmers at the milk producers unions from two states were at logger heads ever since Amul announced that it would supply its milk varieties in Bengaluru.
"There is no need to boycott Amul in my view. You keep doing what you want to do. If Amul is snatching something, it is a matter of protest," the Chief Minister said. According to the Opposition including Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka, the ruling BJP has resolved to "kill" Nandini by facilitating Amul's entry in to Karnataka.
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After the Amul trouble brewed, Hoteliers assocation has resolved to support only Nandini. The Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association which insisted that Kannadigas should only promote Nandini milk products. It refrained from naming Amul, though.
"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," a statement from Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association read.
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The Opposition claimed that they fear that an artificial scarcity of Nandini products would be engineered and it will help Amul breach the market and take over. However, the ruling BJP has not subscribed to the views of the Opposition while maintaining that there was no threat to Nandini from Amul.
