Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Saturday found himself at the receiving end on Twitter. Sharma shared a screenshot of Rs 10,000 donation he made to help the people of flood-hit Kerala and urged the people to do the same. However, many users on Twitter felt Sharma's contribution was way too less given his wealth.
To make it even worse, Paytm in another tweet announced that it had received contributions of Rs 10 crore in less than 48 hours from more than 4 lakh Paytm users across India. The announcement further irked the people who called Sharma's donation as a marketing gimmick. A twitter user by the name of Prem Babel said: "So you have earned more than what you have donated. Good business tactics."
Himika Chaudhuri wrote: "Oh hell!!! This is the lowest low, using a calamity to gain mileage for his brand. @vijayshekhar Shame on you."
"Rs 10K from a billionaire? Not bad to advertise 4 the Paytm app by posting it here & specifically mentioning 2 Paytm app? Don't follow cheap capitalist hippies. Use any other means excluding Paytm. @vijayshekhar," said another Twitter user.
However, not everyone on Twitter questioned the Paytm CEO for his contribution, few actually backed him. Nicksal T Rafeek, twitter user, wrote that Sharma was just doing his bit. "They (Paytm) have collected above 10 crores so far. Also, I think Rs.10,000 is per transaction limit on paytm," he said.
Kerala has been hit by the worst-ever floods in a century. So far, over 357 people have lost their lives and over 10,000 people evacuated from the worst-affected areas of southern state. To help the people of Kerala, many state governments, business houses, foundations and NGOs have made donations in the last couple of days.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's welfare organisation Meer Foundation has contributed Rs 21 lakhs towards relief work. TVS Motor Company contributed Rs 1 crore to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. West Bengal government will contribute Rs 10 crore to the Kerala CM's relief fund.
BJP-ruled Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments have announced a relief package of Rs 10 crore each for the flood affected areas in Kerala. The Congress MPs and MLAs in Punjab will donate a month's salary for the relief work in the southern state. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur too has announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 crore to flood-hit Kerala.