Amazon.com faced a social media backlash in India on Thursday after toilet seat covers and other items with images of Hindu gods were spotted on the U.S. retailer’s website, making #BoycottAmazon the country’s top trending topic on Twitter. The episode is reminiscent of an incident in 2017 when New Delhi took the Seattle, Washington-based company to task after its Canadian website was spotted selling doormats resembling India’s flag. Swaraj at the time threatened to rescind visas of Amazon employees if the doormats were not removed from its site. Reuters found several listings of toilet seat covers, yoga mats, sneakers, rugs and other items depicting Hindu gods, or sacred Hindu symbols, on Amazon’s U.S. website. Some of the items were no longer available for purchase, suggesting that Amazon may have been withdrawing some of the items, as it did in 2017.

Source: Hindustan Times May 16, 2019 12:56 UTC