Bengaluru: JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda warned here on Friday that that his party would launch an agitation if milk and milk products were imported, affecting the livelihood of local farmers.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Gowda said being the son of a farmer himself, he was aware of the problems of milk producers in the state.
When the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) was reeling under a loss due to corruption, JD(S)leader and his son, H D Revanna had turned it around to make it a Rs 4,000 crore profit company, he recalled.
“He also created the KMF supermarket and was called the milk man. Now, they are talking of importing milk and milk products from other countries. We will fight this tooth and nail,” he declared. Releasing a letter he has written to Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa on the treatment of JD(S) workers in Yadgir, Mr Gowda said they had merely protested with black flags while his car was passing by and had neither stopped nor damaged it. “It was a peaceful protest against withdrawal of grants given by the Kumaraswamy government. But the same night, the police filed an FIR against them and beat them up. This is deplorable,” he lamented.
The JD(S) leader urged the CM to suspend the police sub-inspector involved, saying that the DG and IGP had gone back on her promise to do so. “There seems to be pressure on police,” he added.
Once again hitting out at former CM Siddaramaiah, Mr Gowda said it was not he, but his party seniors like Ghulam Nabi Azad, who convinced JD(S) to join hands with Congress in Karnataka. “It was due to the directions from the Congress high command that the government was formed , but later, they only punished us,” he said.
