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- Published: January 19, 2020 09:25
Days after BJP leader’s swipe at Jeff Bezos during his India visit earlier this week has triggered a sharp retort. “Jeff Bezos doesn’t tell Washington Post journalists what to write,” a senior editor at the publication owned by the Amazon CEO tweeted, in response to a post by BJP leader Vijay Chauthaiwale who has alleged that the newspaper’s editorial policy is “highly biased”.
Eli Lopez’s Tweet
“Just to clarify: Jeff Bezos doesn’t tell Washington Post journalists what to write. Independent journalism is not about charming governments. But there’s no question the work of our correspondents and columnists fits within India’s democratic traditions,” Eli Lopez tweeted.
Just to clarify: Jeff Bezos doesn’t tell Washington Post journalists what to write. Independent journalism is not about charming governments. But there’s no question the work of our correspondents and columnists fits within India’s democratic traditions. https://t.co/TzrMZoCw69
— Eli Lopez (@elopezgross) January 17, 2020
Scoffing at Mr Bezos’s “Dynamism. Energy. Democracy. #IndianCentury” post earlier this week, Mr. Chauthaiwale – BJP’s foreign policy in-charge – had tweeted, “Please tell this to your employees in Washington DC. Otherwise, your charm offensive is likely to be waste of time and money.
Mr @JeffBezos , please tell this to your employees in Washington DC. Otherwise your charm offensive is likely to be waste of time and money . https://t.co/L06kI0AqLn
— Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale (@vijai63) January 16, 2020
Here is what BJP leader Chauthaiwale said:
“I am not opposing Amazon as a company, in fact I am a regular customer… Jeff Bezos should go home tell Washington Post what is his impression about India,” Mr. Chauthaiwale later told news agency Reuters. “The Washington Post editorial policy is highly biased and agenda-driven,” he said.
Jeff Bezos’s announcement of $1 billion investment on his first day in India drew unexpected response from Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who said: “It’s not as if they are doing a great favour to India.” The minister later said his comments had been misunderstood and that “all investment is welcome “as long as it is within the law”. The Amazon CEO, whose request for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reportedly rejected a month back, left without meeting any top minister.
We welcome all kinds of investments that follow the letter & spirit of law. If some investment is outside the legal purview, appropriate action will be taken.
Our Govt. wants to ensure that unfair competition is not created for crores of small traders & retailers of the country. pic.twitter.com/OdhyXR90pH
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 17, 2020