Bengaluru, Jan 2 (FN Agency) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday clarified that brand Nandini will always maintain its separate identity in the coming hundreds of years.He told reporters here on Sunday that the merger of Nandini into AMUL is a wrong imagination and none must criticize just on imagination. Union Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah has spoken with clarity and what he meant was that each one must cooperate, and both Nandini and Amul must cooperate in technical and marketing. Shah had said these are two big companies and work for hand in cooperation and that does not mean the merger. The Nandini brand will remain as a separate identity permanently for hundreds of years, he added. The CM said Shah had said there will be benefits if both of them worked together in some sector. “If Nandini or Amul is technically ahead, the same thing can be exchanged, and even there could be an exchange in administrative matters. Shah’s statement must not be misunderstood and politicized,” he said. “As the CM I am saying that the Nandini will be a separate identity forever,” he added. Earlier, Congress and JDS had launched a campaign to resist the so-called merger of Karnataka’s dairy brand Nandini with Gujarat’s Amul.
Former CMs Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy warned BJP leaders of serious consequences if the central government tried to undermine Nandini and bring it under Amul’s ambit. The JDS and Congress branded Shah’s comment as an attempt to make Nandini subservient to Amul.Kumaraswamy, in a series of tweets, said Shah was attempting to mete out great injustice to Kannadigas. “Merging Nandini with Amul cannot happen. There is no question of allowing anyone to take away the livelihood of our farmers. KMF is not only a lifeline of our farmers, but it symbolises the pride and self-respect of Kannadigas. Better if Amit Shah can understand this. “The BJP, Kumaraswamy said, was trying to put an end to the state’s progress with attempts to weaken its dairy brand. Siddaramaiah said the BJP was trying to hurt the livelihood of 2.5 million farming families, who do transactions worth about Rs 20,000 crore a year.Reacting to a statement on the reservation, Bommai said everything will be crystal clear when the final report is submitted. Everything will be fine within the ambit of the Constitution.