BENGALURU (Karnataka): The onion, on the face of it, may appear to be a part of the mundane – a seemingly harmless vegetable, that’s all. In the political domain, however, this innocent piece of vegetable may not be as “uninvolved” as we may think it to be!
You need to recollect how, once upon a time ago, the Atal Behari Vajpayee government in 1998 was brought to tears – rather brought down – by the humble onion, whose prices had gone through the roof back then. The Vajpayee government’s apparent failure to contain onion prices, perhaps due to its inexperience and inability to make timely onion imports, was used astutely by the opposition Congress to corner it.
[Also by the same author: Bumping into ‘Beatles’ in Bengaluru!!! On Church Street, off Brigade Road – THE NEWS PORTER]
If that political crisis brought about by onions owed to the vagaries of weather, and partly due to inefficiency in handling the onion crisis, the current BJP-led Karnataka government has brought upon itself a milk crisis and a controversy that is now seriously haunting it in the assembly elections due to be held next month (May 2023).
Alert opposition seizes the opportunity
In Karnataka, an alert Congress was quick to seize the opportunity and mount an aggressive campaign on milk, or a milk business controversy, pushing the Basavaraj Bommai government on the back foot.
Notwithstanding denials from the powers that be, the Amul brand owners and operators, and also the Karnataka and central governments that there was no move by Amul to take over the local Karnataka brand Nandini, the milk war gained traction with lakhs of farmers, who supply milk to the Karnataka milk cooperative, fearing livelihood losses if there indeed was a takeover by the Gujarat Milk cooperative that owns the Amul brand.
Kannadiga pride factor
And then there is the Kannadiga pride factor as well, which the Congress effectively used as a campaign theme. Quickly jumping onto the bandwagon was Janata Dal (Secular) HD Kumaraswamy, who promised to do everything to protect Nandini from “any predatory move of the Gujarat-based Amul brand”.
In fact, former chief minister S Siddaramaiah even went on to ask people to boycott Amul products, with some hotels and restaurants declaring they would not be purchasing Amul products.
[Also by the same author: A diehard Sholay fan’s journey into Gabbar’s den – THE NEWS PORTER]
The BJP and the Karnataka government denied all accusations and said they would protect Nandini and ensure it was safe. However, given the experience of farmers in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, farmers in Karnataka are apprehensive that they would also be at a loss if Amul were to be given a free run.
Recent developments
Incidentally, recent developments within Andhra Pradesh seem to lend credence to the fears and apprehensions of the Karnataka people.
Farmers associations in Andhra Pradesh are now agitating, seeking the ouster of Amul which was directly affecting the well-being of local cooperative milk bodies. Farmer groups allege that the government was using its own money to procure milk and supply it to Amul. They also allege that the chief minister allowed Amul operations at the cost of the local ones. Former state minister Vadde Sobhaneswara Rao told a Round Table conference at Vijayawada that no farmers in the state were getting benefits from Amul operations. The properties of local cooperative dairies, he further alleged, “were being given away to Amul”.
Hue and cry
The former minister also cited the example of Karnataka, where the government has had to suspend its milk operations with Amul following a hue and cry.
Besides, the opposition raked it up as a huge poll issue, forcing the Basavaraj Bommai government to beat a hasty retreat.
Amul, too, came out with a statement suspending its move to expand its milk business in the state. Amul had wanted to enter the milk procurement and sales business in Karnataka which the local farmers and traders opposed.
Quickly sensing an opportunity, the opposition led by the Congress cleverly turned this simple business move into a high-potential poll issue weaving in Kannadiga pride into the whole campaign.
Incidentally, Amul’s decision to enter the milk business in Karnataka is part of its Southward Push, forcing the locally popular cooperative brands —Karnataka’s Nandini, Kerala’s Milma and Tamil Nadu’s Aavin, among others— to come out with moves to counter the alleged predatory advance of Amul.
Main/Featured Image by Artemtation from Pixabay has been used for illustrative purposes only
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the issues. It was definitely informative. Your site is useful. Thank you for sharing!