Biocon chief, activists in Twitter spat

Biocon managing director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw engaged in a Twitter spat with activists on Tuesday over the eviction of street vendors.

The city police along with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, had evicted close to 100 street vendors near Madiwala market on Monday.

The Bangalore Traffic officials from Madiwala wing had posted about the drive on Twitter, to which on Tuesday Kiran tweeted: “Excellent work but please ensure encroachers don’t reappear.”

Responding to this, Vinay Sreenivasan, an activist who is also a representative of Federation of Bengaluru District Street Vendors’ Organisations, tweeted: “Please learn the law Madam. Street vending is legal. It is protected by the Street Vendors act. Stop criminalising the poor..”

Kiran further tweeted: “These are not street vendors. Space has been provided but they are encroaching on main thoroughfare. Perhaps police should send them to your street where you live.”

“And by all means the vendors can come to our area, our street. We don’t have your wealth madam, your prestige, but we don’t harm our fellow residents, especially those who provide an important service, that too in violation of law,” was the activist’s sharp response to Kiran.