New Delhi: Following controversy over a social media post on Kashmir by Hyundai Motors’ Pakistani dealer, the Indian arms of several multi-national corporations (MNCs), facing backlash and calls for boycotts, have issued apologies for similar messages by their counterparts outside the country.
KFC India said, “deeply apologize for a post that was published on some KFC social media channels outside the country.” A verified handle of KFC had posted a message supporting Kashmir Solidarity Day over Facebook.
The controversy erupted after several users condemned a social media message supporting Kashmir Solidarity Day, posted by a Twitter account of a Hyundai dealer in Pakistan with the handle @hyundaiPakistanOfficial, supporting what it called as “struggle for freedom”.
In a fresh statement, Hyundai Motors regretted the offense caused to Indians by “unauthorized Kashmir-related social media posts” and said the action was against its global policy. The company’s subsidiary in India had also issued an apology on February 6, stating, “India is second home to the Hyundai brand and we have zero-tolerance policy towards insensitive communication and we strongly condemn any such view.”
Another international pizza franchise, Pizza Hut’s Pakistan handle on Instagram had also posted a similar message. The QRS chain released a statement saying, “it does not condone, support or agree with the contents of a post circulating in social media,” according to news reports.
Maruti Suzuki also issued a statement, which said: “As corporate policy, we do not align with any political or religious inclination in any part of the world. Such communication from our dealers or business associates on these topics represents neither our company position nor authorized by us.”
Meanwhile, the MEA’s official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We had seen a social media post on the so-called Kashmir Solidarity Day was made by Hyundai Pakistan. Immediately after this social media post on 6th February 2022, our Ambassador in Seoul contacted the Hyundai Headquarters and sought an explanation. The offending post had been removed subsequently.”
