The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has lodged a formal complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs against e-commerce giant Flipkart and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan for misleading advertisements on smartphones. The complaint has been filed with the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) against an advertisement promoting Flipkart’s upcoming Big Billion Days sale in 2023.

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CAIT claims that the advertisement contains false information on smartphone prices, which is detrimental to offline retailers.

In the contentious advertisement, Amitabh Bachchan allegedly endorsed Flipkart’s assertion that exclusive deals and discounts on mobile phones were solely available on their platform, insinuating that offline stores lacked such offers. CAIT, the apex traders’ organisation, condemned this commercial as misleading and damaging to the interests of local retailers.

₹10 Lakh Fine On Amitabh Bachchan For Misleading Advertisement: CAIT https://t.co/5qrxhJD4v4 @praveendel @BCBHARTIA @sumitagarwal_IN @narendramodi @PMOIndia @AmitShah @PiyushGoyal @nsitharaman @SrBachchan @DPIITGoI @jagograhakjago @AimraIndia @GoI_MeitY

— Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) (@CAITIndia) October 4, 2023

Praveen Khandelwal, the General Secretary of CAIT, tweeted that CAIT has filed a complaint with CCPA against Flipkart and Amitabh Bachchan.

“Aggrieved with the misleading advertisement of #Flipkart endorsed by @SrBachchan, @CAITIndia today filed a strong complaint with #ccpa of @jagograhakjago demanding a penalty for Mr Bachchan and imprisonment and penalty for #Flipkart as per Sec 2(47) of CCPA Act. No one how big may be should try to take a ride on traders of India.”

Aggrieved with misleading advertisement of #Flipkart endorsed by @SrBachchan , @CAITIndia today filed a strong complaint with #ccpa of @jagograhakjago demanding penalty for Mr Bachchan & imprisonment & penalty for #Flipkart as per Sec 2(47) of CCPA Act. No one how big may be… pic.twitter.com/QHlYorGMrs

— Praveen Khandelwal (@praveendel) October 3, 2023

Sumit Agarwal, National Secretary and Youth Convenor of CAIT urged Amitabh Bachchan to reconsider his association with Flipkart, emphasising the responsibility that accompanies his influence. He highlighted the detrimental impact of false claims made in the Flipkart advertisement by the veteran actor.

Shri @SrBachchan ji,

STOP HURTING SMALL BUSINESSES!You are the greatest showman of Bharat, which also means you have tremendous responsibility towards the nation and the citizens. In this advertisement for Flipkart you are demeaning the retailers of our nation by making… pic.twitter.com/wtHQkuw8M2— Sumit Agarwal