The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) raised alarm over the trillion-dollar MNC’s utter disregard for India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions on e-commerce, calling Amazon’s public advertising tactics “sanctimonious” and “laughable.”
“They (Amazon ads) are nothing but a pathetic attempt at buying media legitimacy and confusing the Indian government, the public, and our honourable judicial bodies about Amazon’s persistent violations of India’s FDI laws. The contents of the so-called public notice are mala fide,” the traders’ body said in a statement.
Observing how the MNC is wasting millions of dollars on advertising and portraying itself as a victim, CAIT’s communicator summed up the entire scenario with an Indian saying that roughly translates to “after 100 murders, the killer decides to undertake a pilgrimage.”
CAIT representatives, Secretary-General Praveen Khandelwal and President BC Bharatiya expressed disappointment with how certain media outlets have succumbed to Amazon’s goals by supporting their advertising, neglecting their “sacred regulatory and fiduciary duty” to broadcast what is permissible. “We hope a better and deeper sense of patriotism prevails,” they said.
CAIT also stated that, as a result of its prior diligence and efforts, the Indian courts and regulatory authorities have taken note of Amazon’s rule infractions, which indicate the company’s disregard for and lack of respect for the Indian legal environment. CAIT also urged Amazon and other such giant MNCs to “stop playing God” and refrain from teaching “Indians what is good and wrong.”
Notably, in an earlier statement, the merchants’ association had severely criticized Amazon, claiming that the MNC’s leadership saw India as a “banana republic” where “media and other bodies will play mute spectators” to the e-commerce giant’s various worries.