Patna, Oct 11 (PTI) Congress on Monday demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the alleged payment of thousands of crores of rupees as “bribe” by e-commerce giant Amazon to government officials. Senior party leader Subodh Kant Sahay raised the demand at a press conference here underscoring that the company has admitted to having paid Rs 8546 crore for lobbying, which is illegal in India. “The Narendra Modi government has been hitting small traders and shopkeepers while protecting the interests of big business. The matter of bribery by Amazon is a serious matter and has implications for national security. It needs to be investigated thoroughly and impartially. "Agencies like CBI, which are vulnerable to political pressure, cannot be entrusted with such a probe. We therefore demand that the matter be investigated by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court,” the former union minister said. According to reports, the US-based global e-commerce giant had spent a whopping amount of more than Rs 8,000 crore between 2018 and 2020 towards fees for its legal representatives in India, some of whom had allegedly used the money to “bribe” government officials. PTI NAC KK KK KK