A dispute arises between Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa and comedian Kunal Kamra over gig worker exploitation and business practices in quick commerce. Kamra highlights issues related to low wages and worker safety, while Dhindsa touts the company’s sales achievements. This follows Kamra’s previous public criticism of OLA’s customer service.
Comedian Kunal Kamra has cast a spotlight on the darker side of India’s burgeoning quick-commerce industry, accusing platform owners of exploiting gig workers. In a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on December 31, Kamra directly addressed Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa, questioning the wages paid to the company’s delivery partners in 2024. “Can you also enlighten us with data on the average wages you paid your ‘Delivery Partners’ in 2024?” Kamra wrote.
Kamra’s inquiry followed a post by Dhindsa, who shared data about Blinkit’s sales figures for New Year’s Eve. Among the items listed were 122,356 packs of condoms, 45,531 bottles of mineral water, and 22,322 units of Partysmart—products that were reportedly en route for delivery.
In the spirit of ringing in the New Year, Kamra chose to make his first tweet of 2025 a critique of the exploitative practices he perceives in India’s quick-commerce sector. “While we enjoy the convenience of quick commerce, I’d like my first tweet of 2025 to be about the dark side,” the comedian wrote, adding that the industry’s leaders are not creating sustainable jobs but instead “exploiting” workers.
Kamra’s criticism extended to the very nature of the gig economy, with the comedian calling quick-commerce platform owners “landlords without owning any land.” He argued that these founders lack creativity or innovation and exploit workers under the guise of offering them freedom. “They don’t have a bone of creativity or innovation,” Kamra said. “All they do is exploit people by offering them freedom that they can’t afford, while giving them wages that can’t meet their aspirations.”
The comedian’s fiery comments also suggested that these companies are profiting off data, which he likened to oil, without compensating the workers who generate it. “They are thugs that are using data as oil without paying for the oil fields,” Kamra wrote, concluding ominously, “Someday there will be regulation that humbles them.”
Kamra’s remarks come on the heels of a public altercation with Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, a spat that gained significant traction on social media and even impacted the company’s stock price.
