On social media today, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was chastised for saying that many huge domestic corporations have ignored national interests and that the Tata Group’s opposition to proposed e-commerce regulation reforms had irritated him.
According to media reports and a person who attended the event, Mr Goyal criticised Tata and more broadly stated local businesses should not merely focus on profits or think of circumventing local rules during a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event on Thursday.
After The Hindu newspaper reported today that the government had instructed the CII to remove recordings with Mr Goyal’s statements, the comments drew widespread attention and sparked a social media controversy.
Two of the links to the videos of Mr Goyal’s speech that had been shared with journalists had now been tagged as private and blocked. A request for response from the CII and Mr Goyal’s office was not returned.
“The language used against industry leaders, accusing them of working against the national interest, is reprehensible… Instead of assisting him by removing the video, CII should demand an apology “Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Shiv Sena leader, remarked.
Supriya Shrinate, a spokesperson for the Congress, called Mr Goyal’s comments “undignified.”
Mr Goyal’s remarks on Tata came after Reuters reported last month that the conglomerate was among the most outspoken in telling the government in a July meeting that proposed e-commerce rules would have a significant impact on its business and prevent joint venture partners like Starbucks from selling goods on Tata’s shopping websites.
Mr Goyal claimed Tata’s disagreement to the rules had pained him at the CII event, and that he had conveyed that position to Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, according to a person who attended.
On Saturday, Tata declined to comment.
Mr Goyal has also chastised Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart for allegedly circumventing e-commerce foreign investment regulations. He again cited the “Quit India” movement in parliament last week, praising a court judgement allowing an antitrust investigation into the two corporations to continue.
The Confederation of All India Traders, on the other hand, praised Mr Goyal’s decision today, calling Tata’s opposition to the government’s e-commerce guidelines “very sad.”
According to Reuters, the 153-year-old Tata Group has enormous e-commerce intentions and is going to launch an app that will connect several of its biggest brands, but suggested policy changes have scared it off.
