Karnataka Election 2023: Politics erupts over 'Dahi' label, JD-S alleges Hindi imposition

The allegation of 'Hindi imposition' has resurfaced in poll-bound Karnataka over the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directive to Karnataka Milk Federation to print 'Dahi' on the packet of Nandini Probiotic Yogurt.

Janata Dal-Secular leader and former state Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took to Twitter to slam the BJP governments at the Centre and state and the Karnataka Milk Federation. He alleged that the move to target 'Nandini' is aimed at eventually merging the firm with Gujarat-based Amul.

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'Agreeing to the union system does not mean intruding at will; being meek does not mean being quiet. 'Nandini' is the self-esteem of Kannadigas. Karnataka is a part of the Republic of India and not a colony of Gujarat,' Kumaraswamy's Twitter post, when translated from Kannada to English, read.

'It is a big mistake on the part of KMF to print the word 'Dahi' ignoring the sentiments of six-and-a-half-crore Kannadigas. This is not an act that has gone unnoticed by the state BJP government. The stealth with which unseen hands have operated is evident. Here (in Karnataka) Hindi is directly imposed, not through the back door. It is a double engine @BJP4Karnataka. The government and its puppet KMF have quietly agreed. This is an anti-Kannada act. 'Dahi' printing should be stopped immediately,' he added

The outrage stems from the FSSAI directive dated March 10 directed the milk cooperatives in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to ensure that the cud packets carry the word 'Dahi' as a label. The directive mentioned that the regional name for the same can be printed in brackets along with the word 'Dahi'.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had on Wednesday condemned imposition of Hindi even in labelling curd and said those responsible for it would be "banished" from southern parts of the country.
  
Citing the report, Stalin said: "The unabashed instances of #HindiImposition have come to the extent of directing us to label even a curd packet in Hindi, relegating Tamil & Kannada in our own states. Such brazen disregard to our mother tongues will make sure those responsible are banished from South forever."

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