Amid the ongoing debate over the gig economy, Info Edge cofounder Sanjeev Bikhchandani seconded Zomato boss Deepinder Goyal's post about gig workers. Hailing Goyal, the co-founder said “every word” in the former's post is "true".
“Very well written, Deepinder Goyal, Every word is true. It beggars belief that a Champagne Socialist who married a film star and had a designer wedding in Udaipur and a first wedding anniversary in Maldives has the audacity to then shed crocodile tears around alleged exploitation of gig workers. Aam Aadmi my foot,” Bhikhchandani posted on X.
The Info Edge co-founder's seconding of Goyal's post comes days after Raghav Chadha, MP, offered to mediate between companies and gig workers amid the strike called by gig workers' unions on New Year's Eve, 31 December.
What Raghav Chadha said
Stressing that the delivery persons should be treated with dignity and not as item-delivering robots with unrealistic delivery expectations, Chadha had said that the gig workers are the “backbone of billion-dollar companies and invisible wheels driving the Digital India initiative”.
Deepinder Goyal's post on X
Over two days, Deepinder Goyal took to X with a series of posts defending the gig-worker model. He argued that the much-debated 10-minute delivery promise is only possible in areas where there is a high density of stores around residences.
In a post on X on 2 January, Goyal said the gig economy has, for the first time, brought the poor into plain sight on a massive scale. “Suddenly, the poor aren’t hidden away. They’re at your doorstep: the delivery partner handing over your Rs1000+ biryani, late-night groceries, or quick-commerce essentials,” he wrote.
In his X post spanning 12 paragraphs, Goyal also said, “You see them in the rain, heat, traffic, often on borrowed bikes, working 8–10 hours for earnings that give them sustenance. You see their exhaustion, their polite smile masking frustration with life in general.”
Gig workers' strike
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union announced a nationwide strike on 31 December to collectively press for demands related to the rights, welfare and dignity of gig and platform workers across India.
While issuing a call to action, it stated, "All gig workers, platform workers, digital platform workers, app-based workers, and online freelancers are earnestly requested to participate in the national strike by shutting down all work-related applications and abstaining from providing services on 31 December 2025, thereby making the strike united and effective."
