Nandini ghee supply to TTD stopped during BJP's regime, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah sharing his message on social media said the stopping of the supply of Nandini ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in Tirupati was stopped during the tenure of the BJP government.

Bengaluru: Following the stoppage of Nandini ghee supply from Karnataka to the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh for making laddus; the issue has snowballed into a controversy between the ruling Congress party and BJP in the state. On the other hand, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the supply of Nandini ghee from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was stopped during the BJP's regime. Whereas the BJP has been terming the stoppage of Nandini ghee supply to TTD as the "anti-Hindu" policy of the Congress government in the state.

Siddaramaiah sharing his message on social media said the stopping of the supply of Nandini ghee to Tirupati is not a matter, which has taken place today or yesterday. The supply of ghee was stopped during the regime of the previous BJP government. BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said, "The Congress government always turns a blind eye towards faiths of Hindus. The tradition of 50 years has been broken and it showed the negligent attitude of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah towards Hindus."

Refuting the allegations, Siddaramaiah said, “Kateel will better tell us whether the previous BJP government was against the faith of Hindus, or whether then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai alone was anti-Hindu? "The lives of people, who are in dairy farming are also important to us. In the interest of the farmers of the land, if Tirupati temple management is ready to provide the price quoted by us, there is no problem in supplying ghee,” he stated.

In Tirupati, Nandini ghee was used for making delicious 'laddus' as 'prasad'. The KMF has been supplying Nandini ghee to Tirupati for the past 20 years. At present, Karnataka has been facing a shortage of milk leading to a rise in the prices of milk and its byproducts. Hence, the price of Nandini ghee was also increased. Against the backdrop of rising prices, the KMF has decided not to sell Nandini ghee at the previous price.