Hashtags like #GoBackAmul, and #SaveNandini have been trending on Twitter.
A tweet from dairy giant Amul four days back has snowballed into a political storm in poll-bound Karnataka, with bitter attacks against the ruling BJP. It started with an announcement that Gujarat-based Amul will start online deliveries in Bengaluru, upsetting those associated with the state's own formidable dairy brand, Nandini. Congress and JD(S) leaders, after speculations of a merger between the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which owns the Nandini brand, and Gujarat's Anand Milk Union Limited (Amul), accused the BJP of "evil plans" and "conspiracy" to destroy the state's own brand. They have even asked Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, whose home state is Gujarat, to conduct a referendum in Karnataka on whether Amul should be allowed to enter the southern state's market.
Hashtags like #GoBackAmul, and #SaveNandini have been trending on Twitter since Amul's announcement of its entry into the Karnataka market.
A hotels body in Karnataka has also decided to use only Nandini milk to "support the state's (dairy) farmers".
Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said, "All Kannadigas should pledge not to buy Amul products".
"All Kannadigas have to unanimously resist the usurpation of the KMF, which has been built for the welfare of the farmers of the country. All Kannadigas should pledge not to buy Amul products", Siddaramaiah said.
He added, "In addition to language treason by the imposition of Hindi and land treason by trespassing within the state borders, now the BJP government is going to betray the farmers by shutting down Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which is the livelihood of millions of dairy farming families in the country."
The Congress has accused Prime Minister and the Home Minister, both from Gujarat, of trying to get Amul into the state "through the back door" as merger attempts were apparently not successful.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, fighting with his back against the wall, on Saturday said there should be no politics over Amul, and that Nandini will become the number one brand in the country.
"Nandini products are sold in other states and all steps will be taken to overtake Amul in the competitive market," he said.
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar said there was no need for an outside brand as Nandini was a "better" brand than Amul.
"We want to protect our milk and our farmers. We already have Nandini which is a better brand than Amul...We don't need any Amul...our water, our milk, and our soil is strong," Mr Shivakumar told news agency ANI.
Siddaramaiah has also called on Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai to immediately intervene in the matter.
The Janata Dal (Secular) has also slammed Amul for allegedly trying to take over the Nandini brand. "In a situation where KMF Nandini's milk, ghee and butter are not available in all parts of the state, what does this development of Gujarat's Amul company for online marketing indicate? Doesn't this feel like a black shadow on the work of countless Kannadigas who sustain on Nandini's milk?" the party said on Twitter.
"This development seems to be part of an evil plan to phase out our nation's proud institution KMF Nandini. When a direct merger is not possible, these kinds of tricks come into play. If we sit idly by saying that this is the competition with a giant organization, the future will be dire," JD(S) added.
JD(S) second-in-command HD Kumaraswamy took a jibe at the PM Modi-led government with a "one nation, one Amul" remark,
"One nation, one Amul, one milk and one Gujarat' has become the official policy of the Central government. Hence, Amul is strangulating KMF by standing in its support," he tweeted in Kannada.
The fresh controversy comes barely a week after Opposition leaders and pro-Kannada groups slammed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for allegedly imposing Hindi on Nandini products by adding the term 'Dahi' followed by the local nomenclature 'Mosaru' (meaning curd). However, after facing severe backlash, the FSSAI rolled back the decision and said milk federations can use the term 'Curd' followed by the local nomenclature in brackets.
Karnataka goes to polls on May 10, and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 13.