New Delhi: Hundreds of Hindu nationalist demonstrators belonging to Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad marched in Gujarat’s Ahemdabad on Saturday, forcing the closing of outlets owned by numerous multinational corporations embroiled in a controversy over social media remarks supporting disputed Kashmir.
People displayed outside stores and restaurants, yelling ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ and then locked the doors.
“They should issue an apology saying that Kashmir is an integral part of India, only then we will forgive them,” Jvalit Mehta, north Gujarat convener of Bajrang Dal told the news agency ANI.
They should issue an apology saying that Kashmir is an integral part of India, only then we will forgive them: Jvalit Mehta, north Gujarat convener of Bajrang Dal pic.twitter.com/47nyRBsiY0
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2022
The messages were posted last week by Pakistani subsidiaries of companies such as Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, fast-food chain Domino’s Pizza, and Yum Brand Inc’s Pizza Hut and KFC, all of which are also present in India.
They were released by the corporations on February 5 to coincide with Pakistan’s Kashmir Solidarity Day, which is observed yearly to honor the sacrifices of Kashmiris fighting for self-determination, and sparked outrage among Indian social media users.
“These companies cannot be doing business in India and at the same time supporting Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir,” Dinesh Navadiya, national treasurer of VHP was quoted by Reuters in its report.
The uproar has underlined the dangers that corporations working in India and its archrival Pakistan confront, both of which govern sections of Kashmir but both claim the entire Himalayan territory.
It has sparked a tremendous controversy in India, prompting several of these corporations to make a statement condemning the move by its Pakistani distributors.
(With Agencies Inputs)
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