The Maharashtra government's e-seva centres, set up to provide services like Aadhaar, PAN and passport-related documents to citizens, will now list yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali products.
The move, announced via a government resolution (GR) last week, has stirred a controversy, with the opposition parties flaying the BJP-led government for "marketing" Patanjali products on its Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra online citizen facilitation centres, or e-seva centres.
The GR mentions Patanjali Ayurved products as one of the services offered by the e-seva centres.
Patanjali recently tied up with e-commerce players like Amazon.in and Flipkart.com for marketing its products.
This is the first time that a private company's products will be sold through the state government as Patanjali is the only private company whose services will be offered through the 'Citizen Facilitation Centres'.
The e-seva centres, named as Aapale Sarkar by the BJP-led government in the state, provides services such as application for PAN, Aadhaar, income and domicile certificates, among others, issued by government authorities.
While listing several services, the GR, under the business to customer category, mentioned Patanjali products.
Leader of opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde said, "Why is the state government in love with only one company? It should promote competition among various Ayurved product companies and women self-help groups to sell their products through the e-seva centres."
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam had recently alleged that the state government has alloted the land of Baba Ramdev's company in the Multi-Modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) at throwaway price.
"A 106-acre plot has been allotted to the Pantanjali Ayurved Limited to set up a food park. The government is using its machinery to benefit certain companies that are close to the BJP," Nirupam claimed.
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