SJM demands withdrawal of permissions given to Amazon, Flipkart-Walmart to operate in India
New Delhi, Dec 28: The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has demanded that the government should immediately withdraw the permissions given to e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart-Walmart to operate in India as these firms are "blatantly contravening rules".
In a resolution passed at its national conclave recently, the outfit also said a CBI probe should be ordered into the operations of Amazon, Flipkart-Walmart and other multinational e-commerce companies, while alleging that these firms are doing business in India "blatantly" violating the FDI (foreign direct investment) regulations.
"Foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail trade is regulated through the FDI policy. Foreign players cannot have an inventory-based model to operate (in India). They are also barred from influencing prices by cash-burning models. Multinational e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Walmart-Flipkart are blatantly contravening rules and operating uncontrolled in India," the SJM claimed in the resolution passed at its 15th national conclave in Gwalior on December 26.
Amazon is "on a spree" to acquire brick-and-mortar retail outlets, along with its e-commerce retail activities, the outfit claimed, adding that the company's investments in Shoppers Stop and the More Retail chain are "major steps in this direction".
"From 2017-18 to 2019-20, in three years, Amazon has spent Rs 9,788 crore on legal and professional fees in India. Internal sources have exposed that the money is being routed through these accounts for bribing officials in India," the SJM alleged.
This proves that licences and permissions were obtained by all such e-commerce companies "fraudulently, using unfair means", it said.
"This is a very serious matter. The Rashtriya Sabha of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch demands that all the permissions given to these companies be withdrawn forthwith and all their activities be declared illegal," the outfit demanded in the resolution.
"The entire matter should be investigated by the CBI and as soon as the government officers, including people sitting in high offices, gaining from these companies directly or indirectly are identified, they should be sent on leave to ensure a fair investigation into the matter and be punished for their offences," it added.
The SJM claimed that Amazon and Flipkart occupy 80 per cent of the online marketing space and the discounts they offer are "adversely" impacting the offline markets, neighbourhood shops and grocery stores.
"Along with this, people engaged in the wholesale and the transport sectors are also getting adversely affected by the e-commerce giants.... In the past few years, mobile shops have been closed down due to unfair trade practices of the e-commerce giants," it said.
The RSS-affiliate accused Amazon of giving preferential treatment "to a selected group of sellers including Cloudtail and Appario" to hurt small retailers, "bypassing the Indian FDI regulations".
"Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch competitive products and brands such as Solimo and Amazon Basics. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is another operations being carried out by Amazon in India to exploit the retailers by charging very heavy fees in the garb of helping them in improving their presence on the e-market place.
"Amazon compels small suppliers to hold substantial minimum quantity of their range of products at its fulfilment centres. These suppliers are also required to pay for the warehousing, transportation etc. It has resulted in very high inventory cost for vendors," it alleged.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
