New Delhi, Dec. 27, 2025: A Blinkit delivery partner who went viral after revealing he earned only ₹763 for nearly 15 hours of work was invited for lunch this week by Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, drawing renewed attention to the realities faced by gig workers in India.
The invitation followed a video in which the delivery partner detailed completing 28 deliveries in a single day for what many viewers described as meagre compensation. The clip circulated widely on social media, prompting public outrage and political reaction.
“People think we earn well because we are always working,” the delivery partner said. “But the earnings are uncertain, and the pressure never stops.”
Chadha said the lunch meeting at his residence was meant to understand the worker’s experience beyond statistics and parliamentary debates. “Policy discussions often miss the human side,” he said. “This conversation reminded me why reforms cannot be delayed.”
During the interaction, the delivery partner spoke about long hours, algorithm-driven targets, penalties imposed without explanation and the absence of a proper grievance redressal system. He said delivery partners often feel replaceable and unheard.
The MP has previously raised these issues in the Rajya Sabha, calling for minimum pay standards, social security coverage and accountability from platform companies.
The meeting comes at a time when gig workers across multiple cities are mobilising. The Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers has called for nationwide strikes, including one held on Dec. 25 and another planned for Dec. 31, citing worsening working conditions during high-demand periods.
“These platforms depend on workers during peak seasons, yet offer no stability in return,” Chadha said. “That imbalance must change.”
For the delivery partner, the meeting offered reassurance. “At least someone in power listened,” he said. “That itself matters.”
The episode has added momentum to the broader debate on regulating India’s rapidly expanding gig economy and the rights of those who sustain it.
