A doormat resembling India’s tricolor flag was removed from Amazon’s Canadian website after an Indian government official directed threats at the Seattle-based company, Reuters reported Wednesday.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj called on Amazon to apologize unconditionally and remove any products insulting the Indian flag. She tweeted that if Amazon failed to do so, visas would not be granted to Amazon employees and those already granted would be rescinded.
Amazon must tender unconditional apology. They must withdraw all products insulting our national flag immediately. /1
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017
If this is not done forthwith, we will not grant Indian Visa to any Amazon official. We will also rescind the Visas issued earlier.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017
The flag doormats were visible in an Amazon website screen grab tweeted at Swaraj by another user. Reuters reported that they were being offered by a third-party seller on the Canadian site and were taken down on Wednesday. An Amazon spokesperson said in an email to Reuters that the item was “no longer for sale on the site.”
Indian High Commission in Canada : This is unacceptable. Please take this up with Amazon at the highest level. https://t.co/L4yI3gLk3h
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017
Reuters reported that Amazon’s Canadian portal sells doormats fashioned around other national flags, but under Indian law any desecration of its flag is punishable with fines and imprisonment.
Meanwhile, a quick search of Amazon.com here in the U.S. found that shoppers could get their hands on American flag bathroom mat for just $10.