Opposition grand alliance an eyewash: Shah
New Delhi, Sep 8 : With the party deciding to fight the next Lok Sabha elections under his leadership, BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday hit out at opposition plans for a grand alliance, saying his party was not in the least bothered about it calling it an "eyewash".
In his inaugural speech at the two-day National Executive of the BJP, he accused the Congress of aligning with forces that want to "break" India while his party was focussed on "making" India.
He gave the message that the party was keen to win the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram to which list has been added Telangana, where the Assembly has been dissolved.
"The talk of mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) is eyewash based on falsehood. It is not going to make any difference in 2019 because we have fought against each and every opposition party in 2014. We are not bothered about it," Shah was quoted as saying by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who briefed the media on the presidential speech.
Shah urged party workers not to be complacent because of the continuous electoral successes since 2014 and to reach out to the people with a clear-cut message that BJP was not at all worried about the opposition ganging up against the party.
Shah said the party was in power already in 19 states where it was sure of doing well in the Lok Sabha elections.
"West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and other states where the BJP was in second position in 2014, we need to take advantage of anti-incumbency there. We will also perform better in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu," he said.
Shah said the BJP would contest the next Lok Sabha polls on the plank of its performance and organisational strength and form a government with a bigger mandate than in 2014.
Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his critical comments on Friday against the Modi government's performance, Shah said "Manmohan Singh follows his party, while Modi leads. That is the difference."
Referring to various issues including the "backlash" from upper castes on the recent amendment to the SC-ST law, Shah dubbed all the allegations by the opposition as "baseless".
"While Make in India is not a mere campaign but a movement for building the country, Congress is running a campaign of breaking India. Congress has identified itself with breaking groups," he said.
The BJP President also hit out at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram for being critical of the economic achievements of the government. He asked the party cadres to apprise themselves of the facts on economy and challenge "PC and his company" on the issue.
He listed the achievements of the government on the economic front and said whatever good work done by the government including the yet-to-be launched Ayushman Bharat scheme, inreased MSP for farmers and constitutional status for the Backward Classes Commission should be taken to the people.
Shah picked on the urban naxal issue in the context of the recent arrest of alleged Maoist sympathisers and said the Congress was raking up the issue for its vote bank politics. He hailed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the police action against urban naxals.
Dealing with the controversial issue of National Register of Citizens, he said the BJP would move forward with strong determination to implement it. Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and Jains in neighbouring countries who seek refugee status will be given shelter without hesitation.
Referring to the triple talaq issue, he said even many Islamic countries have cleared legislations on the subject and was not an issue there. "But here due to the hypocritical stand of the Congress, the bill is stuck in Rajya Sabha. We want to get this bill passed."
Earlier, the meeting deferred organisational elections till after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which will enable Shah to continue in the top post and lead the party in the general elections.
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BAMUL president slams Flipkart over selling milk for Re 1 per litre
Bengaluru (PTI): Bangalore Milk Union Ltd president D K Suresh on Saturday claimed that e-commerce giant Flipkart is selling milk for Re 1 through "investor-funded discount campaigns", accusing it of undermining the dignity of farmers and the cooperative movement built over decades.
He has lodged a complaint against Flipkart before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and also written an email to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking investigation into "predatory pricing" of milk by the quick commerce platform and its impact on dairy farmers and cooperative institutions.
However, Flipkart said in a statement that it periodically runs limited promotional campaigns on select products available on the platform, often in partnership with banking partners, to enhance customer value.
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"Prices of products on the Flipkart marketplace are determined by individual sellers. All dairy partners and sellers continue to receive their full agreed price for the products they supply, and farmer procurement prices are not impacted in any way," a Flipkart spokesperson said.
Flipkart further said it remains committed to working with farmers, cooperatives and sellers across India to expand market access and support their growth.
Suresh, brother of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and also a former MP, slammed Flipkart for its latest move.
Taking to social media platform 'X', the Bangalore Milk Union Ltd (BAMUL) president said that milk is not a Re 1 flash deal. It is the livelihood of millions of farmers.
"Behind every litre of milk is the sweat, labour, and livelihood of our farmers. Predatory discounting by companies like Flipkart weakens India's dairy cooperatives and hurts farmer incomes," he said.
He urged both the central and the state governments to act immediately to protect the farmers and the cooperative movement.
In another post, Suresh said that milk is not a marketing gimmick. It is the livelihood of millions of dairy farmers who work every day to feed this nation.
"Flipkart is selling milk for Re 1 through investor-funded discount campaigns and is undermining the dignity of farmers and the cooperative movement built over decades," he added, urging public to choose farmers, cooperatives and Nandini, a dairy brand owned by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).
Speaking to reporters here earlier in the day, he said that a complaint would be lodged against Flipkart before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) under Section 19(1)(a) over the company's move to sell one litre of milk for Re 1.
He alleged that such competition aimed at capturing the market would hit farmers hard.
"Around Rs 2,000 crore has reportedly been spent on this initiative. It is not appropriate to misuse public shareholders' money in this manner," he said.
According to him, the move could undermine long-standing milk cooperative institutions that have existed since the pre-Independence period.
"Multinational companies are working against farmers' interests. They should clearly state in their advertisements how long they will sell milk at such low prices. Flipkart must withdraw from this move that harms the farming community," he added.
Suresh claimed that 14.5 lakh litres of milk had already been sold under the scheme and advertisements had been issued widely.
"Public money is being invested to attract customers. The company should disclose how long it plans to sell milk at this price," he said.
Responding to a question on whether the sales of Nandini milk had dropped, he said several brands operate in the market and not just Nandini.
"BAMUL's sales have dropped by about 40,000-50,000 litres. We need to ascertain how long this decline has continued," he said.
Asked if other entities were behind the scheme, he said information was still being gathered. "I have seen a couple of advertisements and will also discuss the matter with officials. Under the guise of business, it is not right to ignite a crisis for the farming community," he said.
Suresh said farmers are currently paid Rs 38-40 per litre for milk. "How can they sell it for Re 1? "We need to find out from whom they are purchasing the milk and where it is coming from," he said.
When asked whether farmers should be advised not to sell milk to such companies, Suresh said it was not clear where the company was procuring milk from, including bulk producers.
"We are also checking whether milk powder is being mixed. I have asked for samples and instructed that they be tested in laboratories. If cooperative institutions collapse, the direct impact will be on farmers," he added.
