Facing huge criticism on social media because of its stand on Net Neutrality, Flipkart has pulled out of the Airtel Zero programme. The popular e commerce company has issued a statement on Twitter saying they were in support of Net Neutrality.

READ: Everything you want to know about net neutrality

This is confirmed from a tweet that says, “We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of #NetNeutrality, for we exist because of the Internet.”

We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of #NetNeutrality, for we exist because of the Internet. http://t.co/XTxK9l6cdU

— Flipkart (@Flipkart) April 14, 2015

Here is the official Statement From Flipkart:

We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of net neutrality, for we exist because of the Internet.

Over the past few days, there has been a great amount of debate, both internally and externally, on the topic of zero rating, and we have a deeper understanding of the implications. Based on this, we have decided on the following:

·       We will be walking away from the ongoing discussions with Airtel for their platform Airtel Zero

·       We will be committing ourselves to the larger cause of Net Neutrality in India. We will be internally discussing over the next few days, the details of actions we will take to support the cause

·       We will be working towards ensuring that the spirit of net neutrality is upheld and applied equally to all companies in India irrespective of the size or the service being offered and there is absolutely no discrimination whatsoever

 
The Flipkar CEO, Sachin Bansal earlier supported the Airtel zero programme and said on Twitter that when other companies did the same it was termed as innovation.

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

— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) April 8, 2015

I'm for #NetNeutrality. I spend time/money helping startups in india. Will never support things which suffocate innovation... (1/3)

— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) April 8, 2015

... 0 rated apps for limited time doesnt go against #NetNeutrality. Costs/competition are very high. Can't be sustained for long... (2/3)

— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) April 8, 2015

... 0rating only reduces data costs for users. Fears of a telecom big brother emerging are unfounded. Choice wins. Always. (3/3)

— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) April 8, 2015

Not convinced with Bansal, netizens continued to speak against net neutrality. Many Flipkart users have reportedly uninstalled the shopping app from their smartphones to mark the protest.

Meanwhile, huge pressure favouring net neutrality is being build up on social media. A group of internet users on www.savetheinternet.in   have in fact prepared a readymade template of the answers in response to the 20 questions asked by TRAI. The answers are in favour of net neutrality. One can chose to edit these answers and send it to TRAI in just two clicks. This response to TRAI is being circulated across the internet. Even celebrities have endorsed net neutrality sharing this link. Savetheinternet.in has received the support of over 36.8 K users over Twitter, 1.5 K users over Google+ and 131 K users over Facebook.