Swiggy gets called 'Hinduphobic' over a Holi billboard

Swiggy, the food delivery platform, on Tuesday became embroiled in allegations of Hinduphobia over a controversial billboard.

The billboard features eggs and reads, “Omelette; Sunny side-up; Kisi ke sarr par. #BuraMatKhelo. Get Holi essentials on Instamart.”

The billboard suggests that eggs must be used for consumption and not to smash over someone’s head.

The advertisement has become viral on Twitter along with the hashtag #HinduPhobicSwiggy. Users have said that they should be allowed to celebrate Holi the way they want to.

A user tagged Swiggy and wrote, “Did you put up the same billboard during Eid, asking Muslims to refrain from slaughtering goats or during Christmas urging Christians to not cut down trees? Keep your Hinduphobia out of our festivals and let us celebrate Holi the way we want.”

Another user wrote, "Swiggy's advertisement is unacceptable & hurtful towards the sentiments of millions of people celebrating Holi. Swiggy must take corrective measures by removing the ad & issuing a sincere apology to Hindus. We won't tolerate Selective gyan on our festivals."

While some Twitter users were enraged by the recent Swiggy ad campaign, others said this was a harmless campaign. A user wrote, “I’m genuinely curious. Is breaking eggs on someone’s head a part of Holi? In the ad, Swiggy seems to be asking people not to smash eggs on someone’s head for Holi. How is it bad?”

Another user tweeted, “It’s a beautiful ad by Swiggy. An egg is a product that should be eaten rather than thrown on somebody’s head. They didn’t say not to play Holi but to play with colors either, they are providing special Holi essentials also on their app. Positive advertisement.”

Despite the furore on social media, Swiggy has not responded yet.