Jagan to lay foundation for Amul unit to revive Vijaya Dairy, TDP alleges surrender to Gujarat cooperative

Ahead of the 2019 elections, Reddy promised milk farmers to revive the sick unit, and the state government entered into a memorandum of understanding with Amul to invest up to Rs 385 crore to set up an ice-cream plant and produce and market various dairy products. The chief minister said that reviving the unit would provide employment to at least 5,000 people and lakhs of dairy farmers in Chittoor and neighbouring districts.

The TDP chastised the move stating that handing over the dairy also amounted to hurting Telugu pride.

TDP state president Kinjerapu Atchen Naidu wrote a letter to Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy expressing his concern over “surrendering” thousands of crores’ worth of public properties and cooperative dairies to Amul, at a time when neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have kept the Gujarat cooperative at bay “on learning about its deceptive attitude”.

“I am bringing to your notice that the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had promised to the people to revive the cooperative dairies, including the Chittoor Dairy, soon after coming to power, has changed tack after assuming power and undermining the whole system. Gujarat-based Amul has been invited to the state only to weaken the cooperative dairies,” Naidu wrote. He termed the “surrender” barbaric.

The TDP leader, who accused the state government of betraying the dairy farmers, said that public properties worth Rs 6,000 crore had already been conceded to Amul. In his letter, Naidu said the chief minister had handed over the Chittoor Dairy and its Rs 650-crore assets to Amul on an annual lease of Rs 1 crore for 99 years only for commissions and to “countermand his court cases”.

Naidu asked whether the ruling YSR Congress Party was not capable of running the cooperative dairies. What is the secret behind inviting the Gujarat-based dairy “without considering the local units”, he further asked. He also wrote that Amul would not employ the locals.

Naidu, who accused Reddy of acting as Amul’s brand ambassador, also demanded the government explain how Amul will be beneficial to the people of the state.