After Flipkart withdrawal from Airtel Zero, politicians reiterate support for net neutrality

NEW DELHI: As support for net neutrality grows by the minute, political parties have joined the pitch for internet freedom. "Congress completely supports net neutrality, Internet freedom must not be compromised," said Congress leader Ajay Maken.

"If ISPs control where you should shop from, then consumers will be powerless," Maken slammed.

The government has also backed an open Internet. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said the common man should be able to access it without discrimination and declared that the final decision on the controversial net neutrality issue will be taken by the telecom department and not the regulator. A six-member panel set up by telecom department will submit its recommendations next month, following which a final view will be taken on net neutrality, the principle that guarantees consumers equal and non-discriminatory access to all data, apps and services on the Internet.

ALSO READ: Flipkart gives in, pulls out of net neutrality violating service Airtel Zero

Meanwhile, after the significant backlash that it faced, online retailer Flipkart on Tuesday withdrew from the controversial Airtel Zero plan. "We think equal access to internet is important for healthy growth of internet services in India. We have realised that Airtel Zero could go against net neutrality," Flipkart said.

"We will be internally discussing details of actions over the next few days. We have a deeper understanding of the implications of zero rating," Flipkart said.

"We are committed to the larger cause of net neutrality," Flipkart said in a statement.

Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal had sparked a controversy by tweeting about his view on net neutrality. "When foreign companies do it in India - Innovation. Indians do it - Violation. #NetNeutralityDiscrimination?" Bansal had tweeted.

When foreign companies do it in India - Innovation. Indians do it - Violation. #NetNeutralityDiscrimination?

— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) April 8, 2015

Commenting on Flipkart's decision, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, MP of Rajya Sabha said, "This is a sign that brands are getting increasingly sensitive to what consumers are saying. The voice of people has begun to resonate with the government, the regulator and the brands."

On its part Airtel said that it believes in the concept of net neutrality. "We have always supported net neutrality. The internet is open and we believe it should be non-discriminatory. It should be transparent and open and completely support net neutrality as a concept," said Gopal Vittal, CEO of Airtel India.

Asked whether AIrtel is planning to withdraw the product, Vittal said, "We stand committed to the product. We are disappointed by the kind of criticism on the product. This cannot be a conversation on rich versus the poor. We are trying to bridge the divide."