 "Sushma Swaraj reprimands Amazon for selling doormats with Indian flag; site takes down the listing")
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has been known to address a lot of grievances on her Twitter handle. But last night Swaraj was definitely not in a good mood after she found out through one of her followers that Amazon Canada was selling doormats with the Indian flag theme on it.
The external affairs minister has demanded an unconditional apology from Amazon , and has asked it to withdraw all products insulting the national flag. Failing which, no Amazon executive visiting India will be issued a visa.
https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/819177814037512193
https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/819192573134680064
https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/819192941130326016
Swaraj also said that visas issued earlier would be rescinded if Amazon did not toe the line and take off products insulting the Indian flag.
Amazon Canada had a page listed with doormats in the colours of the Indian national flag. According to this Hindustan Times report, following protests by people from India and of Indian origin, Amazon Canada had taken off the flag-themed doormats .
The seller XLYL apparently also lists similar doormats featuring flags of countries such as the UK and the US. The Indian flag-themed doormats were first listed on Facebook by Phoenix-based Ratnesh Mishra, following which a social media campaign was started online, targetting Amazon. The Canadian outpost of the Overseas Friends of the BJP also criticised Amazon for this listing.
But the equations change when the external affairs minister tweets about this issue. Swaraj, who has close to 7mn followers, is one of the most active Indian ministers on Twitter. In fact, just last month, despite undergoing kidney treatment, Swaraj was actively addressing grievances on Twitter. Even in the past, Swaraj has intervened to help out Indians facing difficulties abroad.
An Amazon spokeswoman had stated in an email that the item is no longer available for sale on the site.
According to the Indian law, any desecration of the national flag is punishable with fines and imprisonment.
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