NEW DELHI: AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Monday shared a teaser video showing him dressed as a Blinkit delivery partner. The clip offered a brief glimpse into the daily life of a gig worker.The short clip, posted on X, shows the Rajya Sabha MP wearing the company’s delivery uniform and spending a day as a delivery executive, concluding with the caption, “Stay Tuned.”In his post, Chadha wrote, “Away from boardrooms, at the grassroots. I lived their day. Stay tuned!” The teaser quickly drew attention on social media, with many users reacting to the AAP MP’s attempt to experience the life of a gig worker first-hand.While several users praised the move, others raised questions. One user tagged the company and wrote, “Did Raghav sign up as a rider or just decided to tag along with a delivery partner. If he did not sign up then it’s a violation of your terms.” Another user welcomed the gesture, saying, “This is what representative leadership looks like. Not just talking about workers’ dignity, but experiencing their realities firsthand. Empathy on the ground creates better policy at the top. Well done.”The teaser comes amid Chadha’s vocal advocacy for gig workers’ rights. Just days earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party MP defended delivery partners who went on strike, accusing platform companies of politicising demands for fair pay and dignity. He had said that gig workers were being treated like “hostages with helmets” rather than employees with basic rights.
Why gig workers went on strike
Gig workers across food and grocery delivery platforms launched a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve to protest falling earnings, unsafe work pressure and the absence of social security benefits.Workers said frequent changes in payout structures and algorithm-driven incentives have sharply reduced per-order income, making it difficult to cover basic expenses despite long working hours.A key demand was the removal of 10-minute delivery models, which workers argue force them to ride recklessly, increasing the risk of accidents, injuries and mental stress. Many also complained about penalties, arbitrary ID blocking and lack of transparent grievance redressal.While platforms offered higher incentives and festive bonuses on New Year’s Eve, unions said these were short-term measures with unrealistic targets that failed to address long-standing issues. Gig worker groups demanded fair pay, safer working conditions, social security coverage and recognition as workers under labour laws.In a post on X during the strike, Chadha wrote, “Workers asking for fair pay are not criminals. And if your system needs police to keep running on its biggest day, that is not proof the system works. That is an admission it doesn’t.” He added that he supports businesses and startups, but not exploitative practices, saying, “I am pro-industry, not pro-exploitation.”He argued that workers logging in during strikes should not be seen as acceptance of unfair conditions, but as a matter of survival. “When one day’s income decides rent, electricity, or a child’s school fee, logging in on a strike day is not approval, it is survival,” he wrote.The MP had earlier raised these issues in the Rajya Sabha and has since met delivery workers to hear their experiences directly. Last month, he hosted a Blinkit delivery partner at his residence after the worker’s video on low daily earnings went viral, further fuelling debate around the gig economy.
