If you thought External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s Twitter tirade against Amazon Canada for selling doormats with the Indian flag on them was uncalled for, Economic Affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das would probably disagree. Das, too, took to Twitter to warn Amazon to “desist from being flippant about Indian symbols and icons”. This, after Amazon had pulled down the ‘offensive’ products and Amazon India’s Vice-President and Country Manager Amit Agarwal had written to Swaraj expressing “regret at hurting Indian sensibilities”.
In the following tweet, Das clarified that his “comment” on Amazon was made as a “citizen of India” and “nothing more should be read into it”.
And he finally signed off on the issue with one last tweet admitting he sometimes gets “touchy when our icons are involved”.
Das’s outburst invited criticism on Twitter, as some pointed out that he was one of the officials in charge of the mismanaged demonetisation exercise.
Others just wondered whether Das could have warned Amazon without adopting the Mafia-esque tone.