CAIT protests Amazon in over 1,200 Indian cities, threatens nationwide action

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 25, 2021

On November 24, the Confederation of All India Traders held protests in over 1,200 Indian cities across more than 500 districts against e-commerce giant Amazon and its business practices. 

CAIT launched ‘dharnas’ across the country on Wednesday to protest Amazon’s alleged sale of numerous illegal products on its India e-commerce site, Indo-Asian News Service reported. CAIT’s members expressed anger over Amazon’s alleged facilitation of the sale of poison, banned chemicals (used in bomb making), and marijuana and called for the arrests of its top officials.
 
The traders’ body announced on Wednesday that, unless the government takes immediate action against Amazon, it will rally its traders to organise a 'Bharat Vyapar Bandh' (nationwide strike). CAIT also directly told Amazon to either follow the country’s rules or leave the country, a sentiment it has held through numerous protests against the US business in recent years. 

CAIT called for Amazon’s India portal to be suspended until an official government investigation into the legality of its business practices is carried out. The organisation’s secretary general Praveen Khandelwal accused the government of enforcing different rules for ordinary citizens and for Amazon and cited the recent case in Madhya Pradesh where a man complained that his son’s suicide was facilitated through the fact that he was able to order poison through Amazon. 
 
CAIT has long criticised Amazon, along with Walmart-owned Flipkart, for its business practices in India and argues that its alleged monopolisation of the market is harming Indian traders. The organisation has held numerous pan-India strikes and boycotts against the businesses.