Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said there should be no politics over the entry into the State of Amul's dairy products even as Opposition Congress and JD(S) have opposed it.
Reacting to former chief minister Mr Siddaramaiah's remarks that "all Kannadigas should pledge not to buy Amul products," Mr Bommai said there should not be any concern about the Nandini brand of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).
"Nandini will become the number one brand in the country but there must be no politics regarding Amul," Bommai said.
The chief minister added, "Nandini products are sold in other states and all steps will be taken to overtake Amul in the competitive market."
KMF sells milk and curd in the State under the brand name of Nandini.
In Bengaluru, Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar stated that 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 ANI.
On Friday, Mr Siddaramaiah said, "All the Kannadigas have to unanimously resist the usurpation of the KMF, which is built for the welfare of the farmers of the country. All Kannadigas should pledge not to buy Amul products."
The Congress leader further stated, "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."
Mr Siddaramaiah also called on Mr Bommai asking him to immediately intervene in the matter and stop Amul from "entering through the back door."
In this regard, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah should bring the referendum of the state to his attention and stop this treacherous thinking, he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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