To commemorate 71st Independance Day, an Israeli company indulged in controversial branding of liquor bottles that sported the image of Mahatma Gandhi. The company ultimately ended up apologising for hurting Indian sentiments
This incident irked the conscience of parliamentarians here in India. Rajya Sabha members on Tuesday expressed concern over the picture and this prompted Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu to direct External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar to look into the matter.
The brand manager of the company, Gilad Dror, offered its heartfelt apologies to the people of Government of India for hurting their sentiments,” Gilad Dror, the brand manager of the company said in a statement, adding that the company had stopped production and is making efforts to withdraw the product from the market.
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Mahatma Gandhi was the only non-Israeli face on the limited edition bottles that included three former Israeli Prime Ministers — David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir and Menachem Begin and the father of Zionism, Theodor Herzl. The set featured a cartoon image of Gandhi decked out in shades and a tie-dye shirt.