CAITIndia takes serious objection to the below tweet from Health Ministry of INDIA promoting online shopping only AND urgeD Shri Mansukh Mandviya to immediately withdraw this unacceptable discriminatory campaign which is against the interests of 8 crore retailers.
Confederation of All India Traders
Vyapar Bhawan
925/1, Naiwala, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005.
Phone: +91 11-45032664, Telefax: +91 11-45032665
Email: teamcait@gmail.com Website: www.cait.in
Ref No. 3294/1/50
20th October, 2021
Shri Mansukh Mandaviya
Hon’ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare
Government of India
New Delhi
Dear Shri Mansukh Bhai,
Sub: Objectionable advertisement campaign of Ministry under your command
We invoke your kind and immediate attention towards a continued advertisement campaign primarily on social media including Twitter relating to promoting people to buy online in order to protect from Covid. While registering our strong protest on this particular advertisement, we call upon you to immediately withdraw the said advertisement and suspend its promotion any further. The said advertisement campaign is grossly against more than 8 crore small businesses of the Country who are rendering yeomen services at the time of need of the nation and contravenes the fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India which prohibits any discrimination. A tweet of your Ministry released today i.e 20th October,2021 as under promotes the advertisement campaign:
https://twitter.com/MoHFW_INDIA/status/1450635158671925257
As you are aware that the current online business of India is highly vitiated and captivated by foreign funded e-commerce companies which have left no stone unturned in disobeying the laws and the rules of the Country and abusing the dominance. Your said campaign is regarded as a vital support and empowering them to continue with their unhealthy and manipulative business practices much to the disadvantage to not only the traders but the end consumers as well. It appears that while drafting the campaign, these burning issues were ignored Such a move by your Ministry is highly derogatory, proved to be much disastrous to the offline business community and an attempt to discourage the retailers of the Country. The offline traders who stood firmly with the Government at the time of covid both last year and this year have been grossly ignored and neglected by the officials who designed the campaign.
At the time when much controversy is erupting about e-commerce business, strong remarks passed by the Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court about the business tactics of major global e-tailers who have the highest share of e-commerce business in India, several statements made by Union Commerce Minister Shri Piyush Goyal at various national & international forums about mandated compliance of the laws and rules have been put to deaf ears to by major e-tailers who are controlling the e-commerce business, the campaign of your ministry asking people to buy goods from online is an unwanted, uncalled for and highly discriminatory campaign which rejects the contribution of offline traders in national economy and who have been regarded as backbone of economy by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Under the circumstances, we request you to please withdraw the controversial advertisement campaign immediately . We are sure that it will receive your immediate attention and you will take necessary action.
Thank you. With regards
Truly yours
Praveen Khandelwal
National Secretary General
Confederation of All India Traders
