Congress won't allow BJP to raise 'One Nation, One Milk' slogan, says Jairam Ramesh

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah are trying to ignore the Constitution which clearly demarcates cooperative societies as a state subject.

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NEW DELHI: The Congress won't allow a time to come when the BJP can raise the slogan of 'One Nation, One Milk', the opposition party said on Wednesday while accusing the Centre of seeking "enforced cooperation" between Amul and Karnataka Milk Federation brand Nandini.

Terming it a "brazen move" to control dairy cooperatives in states, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party will strongly oppose the BJP's efforts to centralize control of cooperatives by replacing farmers' control with theirs.

With assembly elections just a month away in Karnataka, the Congress has trained its guns at the ruling BJP and expressed fears that Nandini, the Rs 21,000 crore brand, from the KMF, could be merged with Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL). The BJP has emphatically rejected the charge.

"The Congress party will not allow the time to come when the BJP may raise the slogan of “One Nation, One Milk'," Ramesh said in a statement.

In its election campaign in Karnataka, and in political activities across the country, the Congress will explain to people the "sinister agenda" behind these moves and resolve to oppose them through all possible democratic means, he said.

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah are trying to ignore the Constitution which clearly demarcates cooperative societies as a state subject.

In December last year, Shah had said during the inauguration of KMF's mega-dairy in Mandya that "cooperation between Amul and Nandini can do wonders in the dairy sector."

Gujarat-based dairy cooperative Amul announced on April 5 that it would enter the Karnataka market to supply its milk and curd.

In his statement, Ramesh alleged that Shah's "enforced cooperation" between Amul and Nandini is a "brazen move by BJP to control dairy cooperatives in states."

Noting that Amul and Nandini are both national success stories of the White Revolution, Ramesh said it was started by Verghese Kurien in Anand and spread across India when prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri established the National Dairy Development Board in 1965.

"The network of cooperatives in each state aimed to empower the dairy farmer, as exemplified by Dr. Kurien's mantra, 'I am an employee of the farmer'," Ramesh said.

He said the Congress helped nurture this decentralized vision over decades, empowering and ensuring autonomy to crores of dairy farmers.

"In sharp contrast, Amit Shah imagines a small collection of centralized organizations under his direct command and control. This is the agenda of the new Union Ministry of Cooperation which Shah heads," Ramesh alleged.

This is why Shah wishes that Amul merges with five other cooperative societies to form a multi-state cooperative society involving two lakh rural diaries, he claimed.

Ramesh also shared a chronology of events, including in it the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation in July 2021, when Shah given its charge and his announcement that Amul will merge with five other cooperative societies.

"As the chronology shows, PM Modi and his government are following their usual practice. They are establishing their total control, ignoring the Constitution which clearly demarcates cooperative societies as a state subject," Ramesh alleged.

Nandini, Amul, and other cooperatives like OMFED, Mother Dairy, Vijaya and Aavin, empower farmers and help them prosper, Ramesh asserted.

For example, the KMF, which markets Nandini, is a federation of 14,000 cooperative societies organized into 14 unions and its 24 lakh members earn over Rs 17 crore a day, Ramesh said.

"Amit Shah and the BJP wish to replace the farmers' control with their control by consolidating these historic societies into new multi-state cooperative societies," the Congress leader alleged He went on to add that the attempt to compel KMF to act against its commercial interests is only a step towards the intended goal where all dairy unions become a political arm of the BJP.

"Decisions will not be made in Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai or Pune, but in Delhi by Amit Shah, the Minister of Cooperation," he claimed This will disempower dairy farmers and will ultimately threaten their incomes and livelihoods, Ramesh said.

"This pattern has been seen before. Karnataka, for example, saw Vijaya Bank, one of the most successful public sector banks, merge with the loss-making Bank of Baroda. Similarly, the State Bank of Mysore merged with SBI and Corporation Bank merged with Union Bank, leaving only one public sector bank with its head office in Karnataka," he said.

He asserted that the Congress has always supported a federal and decentralized vision of India, and strongly opposes "Amit Shah and the BJP's efforts of centralized control".

BJP Won't Let Rahul Gandhi Speak In Parliament Without An Apology: Sources

 Mr Gandhi has said he wants to respond to allegations against him inside the house, but the BJP sources said they wouldn't let him speak until he apologises first. 

                          BJP Won't Let Rahul Gandhi Speak In Parliament Without An Apology 

New Delhi: Amid chaos in the parliament, leading to adjournment of both houses for the second consecutive day, sources in the BJP today said they won't let Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speak in the house unless he apologises for his remarks on Indian democracy in London.

Both houses of the parliament were adjourned again today amid loud sloganeering from the BJP, which is demanding Congress MP Rahul Gandhi apologise for his remarks at Cambridge University, and opposition parties demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani-Hindenberg row. Audio of the proceedings were muted while chaos ensued inside the parliament. Congress, repeating Rahul Gandhi's charge that microphones of opposition leaders were muted in the parliament, took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Earlier, the mic used to be turned off, today even the proceedings of the House were muted. The house is mute for PM Modi's friend," the grand-old-party tweeted in Hindi.

Rahul Gandhi was seen in the Lok Sabha for the second time today since the row erupted over his comments, but the house was adjourned till next week before any business could be done. Mr Gandhi has said he wants to respond to allegations against him inside the house, but the BJP is adamant that he apologises first.

Calling Mr Gandhi's remark "egregious and gravely offensive", BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Mr Gandhi should apologise outside before seeking recourse in the parliament.

"It is sad that the EGO on 1 Parivar is above INSTITUTION OF PARLIAMENT (sic)?

Rahul has made an egregious & gravely offensive remark against our sovereignty by demanding foreign intervention on foreign soil

If he is serious about Parliament he should have apologised immediately outside before seeking recourse in Parliament

You cannot undermine Parliament & then seek its recourse

Pehle Maafi Maango Desh se (first apologise to the nation)," he tweeted.

Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, referring to Rahul Gandhi's "unfortunately, I am Member Of Parliament" slip-up yesterday, said he is truly an unfortunate MP because he is defaming the same parliament that he is a part of. He also demanded an unconditional apology from him.

"He does not know that the House is run by procedures, and policies. I had also brought the booklet of rules for him. If he attended the parliament, he would understand. He does not read, and rarely comes to the parliament. Telling one lie after another has become his habit. You lied, and tried to show that you are bigger than the parliament, bigger than the country. He should apologise unconditionally," Mr Thakur said.

Several BJP ministers have slammed Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of spreading lies and maligning India's image abroad. While Law minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that the Congress leader was speaking the language of "anti-India forces", BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has called for the formation of a special committee to look into Mr Gandhi's statements, which, he said, should help end Mr Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership.

BJP National President JP Nadda on Friday said that Rahul Gandhi has become a permanent part of the "anti-nationalist toolkit".

"It's unfortunate that the Congress party is indulging in anti-national activities. After being repeatedly rejected by the nation, Rahul Gandhi has now become a permanent part of this anti-nationalist toolkit," Mr Nadda told news agency ANI. He also asked what Mr Gandhi's intention was when he "demand the intervention of another country in the internal matters of India".

During an event in the UK, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a "full-scale assault" on the country's institutions.

Karnataka BJP wary of corruption allegations fallout; keeps Yediyurappa at hand, mulls revamp

 

‘Communal narrative will not yield results if corruption issue is not addressed,’ says a BJP functionary.

When Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended a political rally for farmers in Bengaluru on April 21, one of the issues he spoke about was corruption in Karnataka during the tenures of BJP and Congress-led governments.

“The government before this (Congress) was a 20 per cent (commission) government, the current government (BJP) is a 40 per cent government. In Delhi, we have a zero per cent government,” Kejriwal told the audience.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener touched on what is a growing concern in the state BJP. The ruling party is worried about the repercussions of the corruption allegations — several have surfaced in recent weeks — in next year’s Assembly elections

“There is a concern in the party that corruption may be a big factor in the Karnataka polls. There is no clarity on how to deal with it — whether serious measures to show a willingness to tackle corruption are needed or whether the status quo will continue,” said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.

The leader added that a Gujarat-style makeover of the government — last September, 14 months ahead of the state elections, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his entire Cabinet were replaced by a team led by first-time MLA Bhupender Patel — had not been completely ruled out in Karnataka. A major organisational overhaul is also rumoured to be on the cards.

Readmore:https://indianexpress.com/article/india/political-pulse/karnataka-bjp-wary-of-corruption-allegations-fallout-keeps-yediyurappa-at-hand-mulls-revamp-7884928/