Bengaluru: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), one of the richest temple trusts in the world that manages the Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, will no longer use ghee from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF)-owned Nandini brand to make its famous laddoos.
The temple board has decided to go with another vendor offering ghee or clarified butter at a more competitive price, according to KMF president LBP Bheema Naik.
The development prompted the BJP to target the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, which had increased the price of milk and other products last week. In the run-up to the May assembly elections, the Congress had cornered the then Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the state for “sidelining Nandini and favouring Gujarat-based Amul”.
C.T. Ravi, former national general secretary of the BJP and former Karnataka minister, tweeted Monday: “Thanks to the incompetent CONgress government, Nandini will no longer supply ghee to prepare the famous Tirupati Laddus. It is very evident that CONgress is hell bent on destroying Suvarna Karnataka to pursue its agenda (sic).”
KMF president Naik, who is also director of the Ballari Milk Union, told reporters in Ballari Monday that the KMF did not want to sell its ghee at a lower price as it was a matter of quality. “Last year, they (TTD) released a tender and asked us to take part in it. We cannot give our ghee at a lower price and the tender is awarded to those who quote the lowest price. We told them that our rates are fixed and we can continue supply only at this price but they refused,” he said.
He added: “There are those who are giving it (ghee) at a much lower price and if the price is lower, it means that quality is also poor.”
Speaking to ThePrint later Monday, Naik said the TTD had been buying ghee from Nandini since 2013. He added that TTD had placed an order for 345 metric tonnes of ghee in 2021-2022, and the Tirumala temple uses around 1,800-2,000 kg ghee per day.
M.K. Jagadish, managing director of KMF, told news channel TV9 Monday that they supply on the basis of requirement, and the matter had nothing to do with any government. The TTD usually calls for tender every six months and procures ghee, he said, adding that the lowest bidder gets the contract, while the KMF “cannot go for competitive bidding”.
A query sent to TTD went unanswered. This report will be updated when the temple authorities respond.
A decision to hike the price of Nandini milk by Rs 3 was taken by the state cabinet in the wake of demands from milk producers’ unions and will come into effect Tuesday. The government has said the entire hike will go to the milk producer.
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‘Nandini-versus-Amul’
Ahead of assembly polls, efforts to expand Amul into Karnataka were projected by the Congress as a bid by the Narendra Modi-led central government to override local identity and regional pride, and a ploy to “finish off Nandini”.
The Nandini tender cancellation has now added more “ghee” to the political war.
The Nandini-versus-Amul issue first gained traction last year when Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for more “cooperation” between Amul and the KMF while inaugurating a dairy unit in Mandya in December.
KMF works with over 14,000 milk cooperative societies, 14 milk unions and procures over 84 lakh kilograms of milk per day, paying Rs 17 crore to farmers on a daily basis, according to data available on its website.
In his Twitter post Monday, BJP’s Ravi mentioned the Nandini-versus-Amul issue: “CONgress shamelessly politicised (the) Nandini issue during the assembly elections and milked it to malign Amul. After coming to power, the CONgress government increased the price of milk thereby making it impossible for Nandini to supply its ghee to TTD board at the earlier price. (sic)”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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