Rahul buys Nandini ice cream, calls the dairy brand Karnataka's pride

In the backdrop of the Nandini vs Amul battle, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday bought a Nandini ice cream and termed the brand "Karnataka's pride." He also termed Nandini, the flagship brand of Karnataka Milk Federation, the "best."

The Congress leader's move came in the wake of the state party leaders throwing their weight behind the homegrown dairy brand, amidst fears of its takeover by Gujarat's Amul.

On a two-day visit to the poll-bound Karnataka, Gandhi bought the ice cream at a Nandini store here while flanked by Congress state president D K Shivakumar and party general secretary K C Venugopal.

Gandhi later posted his photo on Twitter with a caption, "Karnataka's Pride - NANDINI is the best!"

The row involving the two unions started recently, after Amul announced it would supply its milk varieties in Bengaluru.

The opposition Congress and the JD(S) said the BJP wanted to 'kill' Nandini by allowing Amul in Karnataka.

They also expressed fears that a scarcity of Nandini products would be created to make way for Amul to take over.

The Basavaraj Bommai led BJP government, however, denied the charge saying that there was no threat to Nandini from Amul.