Food delivery app Swiggy landed in trouble with right-wing activists and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders as one of its ads on the Holi festival went viral on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.
The billboard ad from Swiggy instamart, the online grocery store, displays two eggs that read “Omellete; Sunny side up; “Kisi ke sarr par” (Not on someone’s head) followed by a hashtag – #BuraMatKhelo. Get Holi essentials on Instamart.”
Soon after, #HinduPhobicSwiggy started trending on Twitter with many right-wingers slamming Swiggy for being ‘anti-Holi’ and ‘anti-Hindu’.
YouTuber Elvish Yadav tweeted, “The recent Billboard advertisement of @Swiggy is a clear attempt to defame Holi & create a negative perception among people. The lack of similar Ads for non-Hindu festivals shows a clear bias. Show some sensitivity and Apologize to Hindu community. #HinduPhobicSwiggy“
Programmer and ethical hacker Anshul Saxena, who is a regular with political tweets said Swiggy is #HinduphobicSwiggy
RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Prachi Sadhvi asked if Swiggy was afraid of the ‘Sar tan se juda gang’. The phrase is often used by right-wing people to address the Muslim community.
Social media coordinator of BJP Haryana Harish Sharma also echoed the same sentiments.
Another BJP leader Arun Yadav also tweeted about #HinduPhobicSwiggy He said, “By promoting controversial billboards and posting reel, #HinduPhobicSwiggy has hurt the sentiments of millions of people. @Swiggy must apologize to Hindu community & remove them immediately, Or face consequences. Why is their lack of similar Ads during non Hindu festivals?”
Ramesh Solanki, Hindu activist and former Shiv Sena member who describes himself as an ‘ardent fan of Narendra Modi’ tweeted, “Holi Reel & Billboard of @Swiggy is disrespectful towards a festival celebrated by millions Why no such gyan on other non-Hindu festivals? Swiggy must apologise to Hindus for its intentional mistake #HinduPhobicSwiggy“
State secretary of BJP Delhi Vaishali Poddar tweeted, “-@Swiggy‘s advertisement defaming Holi is highly inappropriate and insensitive towards the Hindu community. The company should take responsibility for its mistake by removing the billboard, reel and apologize to the Hindus. #HinduPhobicSwiggy“
ISCKON Vice President Radharaman Das accused Swiggy of sending non-veg food items to customers who are vegetarians. “Swiggy starts campaign to give Hindus gyan on Holi. Starts massive ad campaign with hashtag #BuraMatKhelo. Same company Swiggy is also famous for sending non-veg items to some of their customers who are staunch vegetarians and had ordered veg items: Swiggy #BuraMatBhejo.”
Yogi Devnath, a member of All India Sadhu Samaj and former President of the Kutch Sant Samaj tweeted, “Hey Swiggy it’s not okay to give selective information on Hindu festivals. Your Holi reel and billboard is creating a wrong perception about Holi. You must apologise and take steps to promote cultural diversity.”
