Modi's party slams Bezos-owned Washington Post

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party on Friday slammed editorial policies of billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post, even as his e-commerce firm Amazon announced plans to create a million jobs in the country by 2025.

Vijay Chauthaiwale, the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) foreign affairs department, said there was “a lot of problem” with the newspaper’s coverage of India, without giving any specific examples.

The swipe at the Post came a day after a cabinet minister gave short shrift to Amazon’s (AMZN.O) investment plans for India.

Bezos has praised India during his ongoing visit, saying the 21st century will be the Indian century and that the dynamism and energy in the country was “something special”.

“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,” Chauthaiwale told Reuters.

“The Washington Post editorial policy is highly biased and agenda driven.”

Washington Post’s India bureau chief, Joanna Slater, referred a Reuters request for comment to the newspaper’s spokespersons in Washington, who did not immediately respond outside regular business hours.

Chauthaiwale has in the past been critical of foreign media’s reporting on political issues, including on the disputed region of Kashmir which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, saying coverage has been biased against Modi.

Amazon did not respond to an email seeking comment on Chauthaiwale’s remarks.

In Amazon’s statement on Friday announcing the job-creation plans, Bezos said “we’re excited about what lies ahead”, but street protests this week by small retailers and adverse comments from politicians have made Bezos’ visit a public relations nightmare for Amazon.

India’s shopkeepers have represented a core constituency for the BJP since the early days of the party. And sources told Reuters that Modi, who has otherwise courted foreign investors, was unlikely to meet Bezos during his visit despite repeated requests by the company in light of traders’ concerns and an ongoing antitrust probe.