Bengaluru (ANI): Amid Amul’s entry into the Bengaluru market, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Saturday said that the state’s dairy cooperative Nandini is a “better brand” than Amul and that there is no need for the latter.

While talking to ANI, Shivakumar said, “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.”

Congress and BJP were at loggerheads soon after Amul’s announcement of entry in the Bengaluru market.

Congress accused the ruling BJP of plotting a conspiracy to kill the state’s formidable dairy brand, Nandini.

On Friday, Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah called on the people of Karnataka and said that “all Kannadigas should pledge not to buy Amul products” over speculations of a merger between the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and Gujarat’s Anand Milk Union Limited (Amul).

“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”, Siddaramaiah said.

He 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.”

Siddaramaiah also called on Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai asking him to immediately intervene into 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.

The former CM also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and alleged that it was the weak leadership of BJP in the state which is the direct cause of the KMF’s present dying condition.

On Wednesday, Amul tweeted that a wave of freshness in coming to Bengaluru from Kengeri to Whitefield – from the west end of the city to the east – with the hashtag “LaunchAlert.” The cooperative said in a following tweet that quick commerce platforms will be used to facilitate milk and curd delivery.