New Delhi: Bangalore Milk Union Ltd. President DK Suresh has launched an attack on Flipkart, the e-commerce giant. He alleged that the online grocery store
of Flipkart is selling milk at Re 1 a litre through “investor funded discount campaigns.” This, according to Suresh, not only undermines the farmers of the state but also mocks the cooperative movement built over decades.
Complaint lodged against Flipkart
Suresh lodged a complaint against Flipkart with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, regarding what he termed as “predatory pricing of milk” by the ecommerce platform. In his complaint he highlighted the impact this practice would have on dairy farmers and cooperative institutions.
In a post on social media platform, ‘X’, Suresh who is also the brother of Karnataka’s Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, said, ” 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 then urged both the Centre and the State government to immediately act upon this matter and take steps to protect the farmers and the dairy cooperatives.
Congress leader Srinivas BV also supported Suresh. In a post on social media platform, ‘X’, he said, “Re 1 milk billboards across Karnataka by Flipkart are not marketing innovation. They are an insult to millions of dairy farmers.”
₹1 milk billboards across Karnataka by Flipkart are not marketing innovation.
They are an insult to millions of dairy farmers.
Milk is not a startup gimmick or a discount coupon. It is the livelihood of families who wake up before sunrise to feed this nation.
Investor-funded… pic.twitter.com/1BVbxtgk9x
— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) March 15, 2026
He further described milk as a “livelihood of farmers” who wake up early to feed the nation. He said that the product should not be used as a “startup gimmick” or a “discount coupon”. He said that investor funded pricing wars cannot happen at the cost of farmers. He urged people to buy Nandini, the local brand of cooperative brand milk.
DK Suresh also raised questions regarding the practices that Flipkart was following to procure the milk. He said that he was getting it checked from where the company bought the milk and if they had been following any unfair practices or mixing milk powder to the milk being sold on their platforms.
Flipkart responds
Flipkart has however defended the move of selling milk at such low prices. They said that the e-commerce platform runs some limited promotional campaigns on some products available on their website or app. They said that these campaigns are often run with banking partners to enhance customer value.
A Flipkart spokesperson was quoted as saying, ” 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.”
The company also reiterated its commitment to farmers of the country. It said that they are committed to working with farmers, cooperatives and sellers from across India and would help expand the market and thus help their growth as well.
