‘Hostages with helmets’: Raghav Chadha tears into delivery platforms over workers' strike

Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday criticised the business models of quick commerce and food delivery platforms, saying that if they needed police to keep themselves running, it was “an admission” that the system “doesn't work".

The Rajya Sabha member's X post appeared to be in response to Zomato and Blinkit boss Deepinder Goyal's post, in which the industry pioneer had called striking workers “miscreants" while arguing that delivery platforms created jobs at scale.

Chadha, without naming anyone, wrote, “Delivery partners across India went on strike demanding basic dignity, fair pay, safety, predictable rules and social security. The response from the Platform was to call them ‘miscreants’ and turn a labour demand into a law & order narrative. That is not just insulting, it is dangerous."

He further argued in his long post: “Workers asking for fair pay are not criminals... If you needed police to have your workers stay on the road, they're not employees. They're hostages with helmets."

Chadha tore into Goyal’s defence of the platform's policies too, particularly the latter's assertion that “if the system was unfair, why do so many people work?”

Chadha compared this with the zamindari system of feudal times, saying that also lasted for centuries.

He even alleged there was a public relations exercise by the platforms against the striking workers and their supporters. “The sad part is that the PR agencies got paid. Influencers got paid. Hashtags got bought," he claimed, not sharing immediate proof, adding, “ The only people still waiting for fair payment are the ones delivering your orders.”

He alleged that the online attacks turned personal too — “on my family and my lifestyle”. "When someone runs out of answers, they reach for insinuations. My life is transparent. I wonder if the same can be said for the algorithms that decide a worker's pay,” he said.

Goyal had not responded to Chadha’s post as of 7:30 pm, Saturday.

“Support from local law enforcement helped keep the small number of miscreants in check," he wrote, sharing the high numbers. "I am grateful to local authorities across the country and to our teams on the ground for clear enforcement and swift coordination,” Goyal wrote.

He said if a system were fundamentally unfair, it would not consistently attract and retain a large number of people.

“Please don’t get swept up by narratives pushed by vested interests. The gig economy is one of India’s largest organised job creation engines, and its real impact will compound over time, when delivery partners’ children, supported by stable incomes and education, enter the workforce and help transform our country at scale,” he added.

Chadha had last month demanded the termination of 10-minute delivery services offered by quick commerce players, terming the practice as “cruelty” towards gig workers who “risk their lives” to meet deadlines.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Chadha said, “I want to tell you that these people are not robots. They are also someone’s father, husband, brother, or son. The House should think about them. And the cruelty of this 10-minute delivery should end."