New Delhi: Triggering another controversy, RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya in a cover story has called American multinational retailer Amazon "East India Company", and asserted that whatever the magazine has published is based on facts.
"It is a factual story which we have put before the readers. How did over 40,000 shops close due to one company... How did one company - through so many shadow companies - promote selected brands (that) have captured around 95 per cent of the market...", Panchjanya's Hitesh Shankar wrote on Twitter.
Along with the above comments, Hitesh also shared the cover page of the magazine that shows Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with “East India Company 2.0” written underneath.
Later talking to IANS, Hitesh Shankar said that a whistle-blower from Amazon had revealed that the company had used a large sum of money to bribe government officials. The question should be asked to Amazon what wrong does it do that it needs to bribe.
He said that Amazon wants to capture the Indian market, it wants to capture the economy and is also hurting Indian culture. A similar thing was done by the East India Company, he added.
The Panchjanya editor said that the company works to influence the policies of a country.
Describing the allegations made by Panchjanya, a journal with RSS leanings, against the American multinational company Amazon as serious, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has demanded that the government investigate the whole matter.
Talking to IANS, a RSS leader said that the allegations levelled against Amazon in the cover story of Panchjanya are serious and the government should investigate the matter.
An expert on the RSS, Rajiv Tuli told IANS that the report of Panchjanya was based on a revelation made by a whistleblower, and so it was necessary to conduct a proper investigation.
Rajiv Tuli said that spending such large amounts only on lawyers or in the name of consultancy is a matter of investigation. He said there should also be a probe into the effect on small merchants because of Amazon. At the same time, Tuli said Amazon should also present its stand on the issue.
Panchjanya had earlier levelled various allegations against IT company Infosys in a cover story. IANS spoke to Hitesh Shankar, editor of Panchjanya, on the whole matter.
In response to a question from IANS on the RSS and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reaction to a recent story by Panchjanya on Infosys, Hitesh Shankar said that the notion that Panchjanya is the mouthpiece of the RSS is wrong. He clarified that Panchjanya is not an RSS mouthpiece and it stands by its story even today.
As far as Sitharaman's response is concerned, Shankar said she has also admitted that there are flaws. Yes, it may be that the language is sharp or there may be disagreement with the style, but no one has disagreed with the facts put forth by Panchjanya, he said.
Asked about the investigation into the story on Amazon, the Panchjanya editor said that many business communities have written letters and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.
Speaking to IANS on the revelation of Panchjanya, Ashwani Mahajan, National Co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch affiliated to the Sangh Parivar, said they have been raising their voice about Amazon since 2015 that the company was illegally retailing through the back door. Mahajan said that Amazon was resorting to corruption and bribery to operate illegally.
“It wants to capture the economy of our country and hence it is right to call it East India Company 2.0”, said Mahajan.
The Congress says what the RSS is saying about the Amazon is irrelevant but the bribery allegation against it should be "probed".
"What the RSS is saying on Amazon is irrelevant because there is a duet going on between the BJP and the RSS. We have seen that duet, they stand exposed in the farmers agitation. We have seen the dubious role played by the BKS (Bhartiya Kisan Sangh) in the farmers agitation. They did not come for a day in support of farmers in the past one year, so nobody takes RSS seriously anymore. They do not talk in the national interest but in the interest of the BJP," said Pawan Khera.
The Congress last week attacked the government alleging that e-commerce giant Amazon paid legal fees as graft and demanded an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the whole matter.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said, "the budget of law ministry is Rs 1,100 crore, so to whom the e-commerce company paid Rs 8,546 crore as legal fee in two years."
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has greatly appreciated the lead article carried by forthcoming edition of Panchjanya which has cited Amazon as East India Company.
CAIT said the article has corroborated the constant stand of CAIT since last two years that both Amazon & Flipkart are trying to become second edition of East India Company in India.
CAIT said that it's a matter of fact that the business model of these two companies are similar to that of East India Company selling goods at a cheaper rate irrespective of the quality dominating their choice and making them habitual of purchasing cheap goods, killing competition and then enter into crony capitalism and monopolise the market in their favour and then selling goods at a higher price and in absence of any competition leaving no choice to consumer but to purchase the goods at their dictated price.
This is exactly what East India Company did and invaded the Country. Both Amazon & Flipkart want to invade our Country's both economy and social culture through capturing e-commerce and retail trade of India.
CAIT urged the Central Govt to immediately notify the e-commerce rules under consumer Protection Act to put a break to sinister designs of Amazon and Flipkart. The inordinate delay is killing smart traders at the hands of Amazon and Flipkart. So far more than 2 lakh shops have been forced to close due to mal-practices both these companies which is irking traders of the country and therefore implementation of rules is utmost necessary.
In its response, Amazon labelled the Panchjanya article, a"threat to indigenous entrepreneurship", the e-commerce giant highlighted its "positive impact on small businesses... including sellers, artisans, and delivery and logistics partners".
"During the pandemic three lakh new sellers joined us... of which 75,000 were local neighbourhood shops (dukaans) from 450+ cities (selling) furniture, stationery, consumer electronics, beauty products, mobile phones, garments, medical products..." a statement by the company said Monday.
Amazon also highlighted its export program, which it said had helped over 70,000 Indian businesses - many from smaller cities and towns - sell 'made in India' products across the world.
"Amazon's exports program is witnessing rapid momentum... today there are 70,000+ exporters from metros as well as Tier II, III and IV cities, selling crores of 'made in India' products to customers in 200 countries across the world - truly taking (it) global."
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