The Confederation of All India Traders (CAT) on Friday launched a 40-day aggressive national movement across the country. The movement will continue till December 31 against the arbitrary business practices and constant violation of FDI policy by e-commerce majors in India. Announcing the agitation at New Delhi, B C Bhartia, National President of CAIT, and Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, said that the movement aims to expose the e-commerce companies who are openly flouting the policies of the Government without any fear of the law and rules and demanding the Government not to sit as silent spectator and initiate penal proceedings against these e-commerce majors who are following a sinister design to directly or indirectly control and monopolise the retail trade of India.

 

They also said that through this movement, the traders across the country will impress upon the Government to immediately announce an e-commerce policy, constitute an e-commerce regulatory authority and declaration of a new Press Note by abolishing flaws of Press Note 2 of the FDI policy.

 

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that big e-commerce companies are indulging into predatory pricing, deep discounting, controlling inventory of goods, and selling exclusive products having a unholy nexus with brand owned companies on their respective portals ruining greatly the small businesses of the country.

 

Bhartia and Khandelwal also turned their guns towards several banks who are providing cash back and discount services to these portals in a clandestine manner much against the mandate of RBI. “We are not going to spare such banks also and they will have to face the consequences of entering an unholy alliance with these portals,” CAIT said.

They also charged that large number of data is acquired by these e-commerce companies in an unauthorised way and the issue will also be highlighted during the national movement.

 

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that these e-commerce companies are ‘economic terrorists’ and they want to dominate the Indian economy, which the traders of India will not allow to happen.