The ruling government’s derision towards Jeff Bezos was out in the open once again after BJP’s chief of foreign cell, Vijay Chauthaiwale, tweeted strong criticism of the Washington Post and asked the Amazon Global CEO to remind his employees back in the US of India’s growth potential.
The US newspaper owned by Bezos, has been widely criticized by the BJP and its allies for its critical coverage of the Narendra Modi-led government in recent past.
Bezos, who is currently visiting India but has not been granted an audience with the Prime Minister till Thursday evening, had tweeted on Wednesday: “Dynamism. Energy. Democracy. #IndianCentury”.
To this, Chauthaiwale promptly responded, “Please tell this to your employees in Washington DC. Otherwise, your charm offensive is likely to be waste of time and money.”
Meanwhile, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, too, scoffed at Bezos during an event on Thursday and said that Amazon is not doing India a favour by investing a billion dollars.
“Message to investors is please follow letter and spirit of law. Amazon not doing a favour to India by investing a billion dollars. If they are getting a billion to finance losses then question to be raised is where the loss came from, authorities will seek answers,” said Goyal, during the Raisina Dialogue.
Media reports earlier have suggested that a meeting between Goyal and Bezos seems unlikely.
On Monday, in a major setback ahead of Bezos' India visit, fair market watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered an enquiry into the operations of both Amazon and Flipkart on multiple counts, including deep discounts and exclusive tie-up with preferred sellers. It had faced a similar probe in the EU and the US.
Finding merit in the allegations levelled by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, a traders’ outfit, the Commission asked its Director General (DG) to complete the investigation in 60 days from the receipt of the order.
Meanwhile, traders across 300 cities of the country have planned to hold protests under the aegis of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) during Bezos' visit.
Amazon.com Inc will invest $1 billion in digitizing small- and medium-businesses in India and expects to export $10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025, its founder Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a company event in New Delhi, Bezos also said he feels the 21st century is “going to be the Indian century.” He also confirmed the company will export $10 billion worth of Make in India goods by 2025.
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