Threat calls made to Tanishq shop in Gujarat over controversial ad, cops step up patrolling

Ahmedabad: A mob in Gujarat's Kutch district yesterday targetted a store of popular jewellery brand Tanishq, amid a row over an advertisement that has been withdrawn after social media trolls got the hashtag #BoycottTanishq trending.

Meanwhile, police have denied that the store was attacked, According to police, some people had informed the store the ad was not in "good taste". Some threats had also been made. As such, the police have been regularly patrolling the area and n No ransacking, rioting, protest or attack took place, an official said.

According to reports, the manager of the Tanishq store in Gandhidham made to write an apology note by the mob on Monday night. "The ad is shameful and we apologise (sic)," the manager is said to have written in the "apology" note, which was pasted by the mob on the store.

The advertisement in question, released last week, was trolled by a section on social media for "promoting love jihad".

Several prominent personalities -- such as Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, author Chetan Bhagat, among many others, have slammed the trolls, and said that it is against the basic idea of "India."

The ad was removed from official accounts of the jewellery brand on Monday night amid the outrage and Ratan Tata (under whose Tata Company, Tanishq rolls up) continued.

On Tuesday, Tanishq issued a statement saying it was "deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions" and that it was withdrawing the video.

The ad in question shows a pregnant woman in a sari escorted by a woman she calls "ma (mother)" to an interfaith baby shower ceremony. At the end, the young woman asks the older woman, apparently her mother-in-law, "but this ceremony is not held at your home...".

The mother-in-law, wearing a suit and her head covered with a dupatta, replies: "Isn't it a tradition for every home to keep daughters happy?"

Also Watch: Akhil Gogoi: Assam CM Incompetent, Should Resign as Home Minister