Telecom operator Reliance Jio has alleged that industry peers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) are running “vicious and divisive campaign” against it and making preposterous claims that migrating Jio mobile numbers to their networks would be an act of support to farmers’ protests.
The country’s biggest telecom operator in a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought strict action against the two companies and said that such acts of the rival companies can jeopardise safety and security of Jio’s employees.
In response to Jio’s claims, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have termed the complaint as “baseless” and refuted the charges. Reliance Jio further said that earlier also it had written to Trai about “unethical and anti-competitive mobile number portability campaign” by Airtel and VIL to capitalise on farmer protests. “We submit that Airtel and VIL remain unabated in pursuing this vicious and divisive campaign through its employees, agents and retailers. They are inciting the public by making preposterous claims that migrating Jio mobile subscribers to their networks would be an act of support to farmers’ protests,” Jio said in its latest letter. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi against the new farm laws enacted in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.