From Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki to Dominos and KFC, brands apologise after backlash over social media posts on Kashmir
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) conveyed to a number of other countries that it found the posts “offensive”, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Tuesday.
Social media posts on Kashmir by global OEM Hyundai and Kia’s Pakistani distributor on February 5, commemorating ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ in Pakistan, created a furor among sections of citizens in India following which many brands have come in the net be it Maruti Suzuki, Isuzu, KFC, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Osaka batteries, Atlas Honda and many more.
Indians across the country threatened to boycott these brands and the issue has also resonated in Parliament as well, with Shiv Sena lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi raising it in the Rajya Sabha.
Following this controversy over social media posts by Pakistani dealerships, the Indian arms of several multi-national corporations (MNCs), facing backlash have issued apologies for similar messages by their counterparts outside the country.
The Government of India also took this up on a war footing on Tuesday, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaking to his Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong to protest the posts put out by the Hyundai Motor Company, and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) conveying to a number of other countries that it found the posts “offensive”, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Tuesday.
In addition, Korean Ambassador to India Chang Jae Bok was summoned to South Block by the MEA, while Indian Ambassador to Seoul Sripriya Ranganathan sought an explanation from Hyundai and Kia headquarters for the posts.
The MEA did not respond to queries about whether protests had been made with other embassies and governments. However, sources said officials had reached out to economic counsellors in some of the embassies involved and impressed upon the need for their MNCs to respect India’s sentiments.
Some of thebrand apologies are as follows:
