Did TTD reject KMF bid for supply of Nandini ghee after 50 years? Fact Check

As Karnataka Milk Federation official revealed that the famous Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) rejected the bid for supply of the Nandini ghee for preparation of iconic Tirupati Laddus, several claims have appeared on social media.The news has gone viral and was covered by several news  outlets. Meanwhile, several claims have gone viral on social media alleging that the Congress government which came to power highlighting the Amul entry into the state during the elections in May 2023, has failed to protect the interests of KMF and its Nandini ghee, as seen below:

CONgress shamelessly politicised 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.… pic.twitter.com/sJQnOCXPN4

— C T Ravi 🇮🇳 ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) July 31, 2023

Politicized Nandini Milk.
Made it look like BJP is selling it off to Amul (Fake narrative built)

Congress Won elections.
Hiked Milk Prices.
Nandini asks TTD to pay extra for ghee.
TTD says, no we can’t pay.
TTD offers contract to another player.

Lost opportunity. pic.twitter.com/s8nefle59N

— Karthik Reddy (@bykarthikreddy) July 31, 2023

The messages on Twitter can also be seen here and here.

FACT CHECK

Owing to the raging controversy over the issue, Digiteye India checked for facts on TTD halting the supply of Nandini ghee after 50 years of supply. Our research revealed that Nandini ghee was not supplied to TTD for 50 years uninterrupted. In fact, we found that the KMF’s bid was rejected way back in 2019 too and given to Tamil Nadu’s milk brand Aavin. The bidding takes place every six months, according to TTD officials.

On ghee supply by Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), TTD Executive Officer AV Dharma Reddy said TTD procures all the items including ghee through e tender process by floating tenders

Whoever comes L 1 tender is awarded to them only

KMF didn’t participate in the recent Ghee… pic.twitter.com/ll5qYwHf8P

— SNV Sudhir (@sudhirjourno) July 31, 2023

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy told media reacting to the news of Nandini ghee missing in Tirupati laddus that it is not true that KMF has been supplying ghee for the last 20 years. Hence, the claim of 50 years “uninterrupted” doesn’t hold ground. The tender, of course, goes to the lowest bidder but TTD Executive Officer (EO) clarified that KMF didn’t take part in the latest tender held in March 2023, at a time when the BJP was in power in Karnataka.

So the claim that KMF did not get the contract “now” is not true.

Moreover, the procurement of ghee is not confined to one supplier alone as claimed in the news as the requirement is too huge to be supplied by one player. Apart from Nandini, other ghee brands such as Amul and Aavin are also known to have bagged major contracts to supply ghee to TTD in the past.

Karnataka Govt’s Clarification:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah responded immediately to the issue and said that the supply of Nandini ghee from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was “stopped during BJP’s regime” and denied BJP’s allegations that the stopping of Nandini ghee’s supply to TTD as the fall out of alleged “anti-Hindu” policy of the Congress government in the state.

Taking to the social media, Siddaramaiah maintained that the stopping of supply of Nandini ghee to Tirupati (Hindu pilgrimage center in Andhra Pradesh) is not a matter which has taken place today or yesterday. The supply of ghee has been stopped during the tenure of the previous BJP government.

Siddaramaiah tweeted: “ಆಂಧ್ರಪ್ರದೇಶದ ತಿರುಪತಿಗೆ ನಂದಿನಿ ತುಪ್ಪ ಪೂರೈಕೆ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ಇಂದು, ನಿನ್ನೆಯ ವಿಚಾರವಲ್ಲ. ಕಳೆದ ಒಂದೂವರೆ ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿಂದೆಯೇ @BJP4Karnataka ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಿರುಪತಿಗೆ ತುಪ್ಪ ಪೂರೈಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಳಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.” [The supply of Nandini ghee to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh has not been stopped today, or yesterday. The supply of ghee to Tirupati was suspended last one-and-a-half years ago @BJP4Karnataka Govt.”

ಆಂಧ್ರಪ್ರದೇಶದ ತಿರುಪತಿಗೆ ನಂದಿನಿ ತುಪ್ಪ ಪೂರೈಕೆ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ಇಂದು, ನಿನ್ನೆಯ ವಿಚಾರವಲ್ಲ. ಕಳೆದ ಒಂದೂವರೆ ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿಂದೆಯೇ @BJP4Karnataka ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಿರುಪತಿಗೆ ತುಪ್ಪ ಪೂರೈಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಳಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.

ಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಂಸದ @nalinkateel ಅವರೇ ಈಗ ಹೇಳಿ, ಹಿಂದೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ… https://t.co/OegXNLp6HX

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 1, 2023

KMF President and Congress MLA Bheema Naik further clarified that KMF is not the major supplier but third in the row, and was required to supply after L1 and L2 bidders. TTD invites tender every six months for supply of 1,400 tonnes of ghee to make its iconic GI-tagged laddus, hence the demand cannot be and was not met by KMF alone.

“The KMF had supplied Nandini ghee from 2005 to 2020 to Tirupati… We will supply 45 per cent of the demand… From 2020 onwards, we are L3 suppliers. We were required to supply after L1 and L2 bidders. In 2021-22 they had written a letter for supply. KMF had supplied 345 metric tonnes of Nandini ghee,” said Naik giving more details to the media outlets. Hence, the claim is false.

 

Claim: Congress Party politicised Nandini issue during the assembly elections to malign Amul and came to power in Karnataka. Now TTD rejected KMF’s bid for supply of ghee.

Conclusion: KMF lost bid earlier too and supply of ghee was stopped and KMF did not participate in bidding in March 2023 when BJP was in power.

Rating: Misrepresentation —