On Thursday, as the Indian Army's Director General of Military Operations Ranbir Singh revealed that the Army had carried out surgical strikes on "terror launchpads" along the Line of Control, social media exchanges began to heat up in both India and Pakistan.
Within minutes of Singh's press conference, cashing in on the virtual jingoism, a food joint in National Capital Region, Burger Singh, sent out a mass text message that read: "In light of the surgical strike by Indian defence forces on terrorist camps (POK). We offer 20% discount on all orders..."
Scroll.in spoke to Prashant, a call operator at Burger Singh's branch in Connaught Place, who confirmed that the discount could only be availed of online. Prashant also said that Burger Singh's phone had been ringing off the hook since the text message was sent out.
Under "special offers" on Burger Singh's website there was no mention of surgical strikes, but there was a mention of the coupon code sent out with the text message, guaranteeing 20% discount.
Several Indian social media users found Burger Singh's marketing strategy unappetising.
When Scroll.in contacted Burger Singh for comment, its management replied: "We would... like to establish that we support the government's decisive and prompt action to preserve the honour of our armed forces and the dignity of our country."
"We are AGAINST terrorism and love our nation," said Kabir Singh, who is described as the founder of Burger Singh on the company's website. "It was never our intention to hurt, harm or otherwise prejudice anyone or their beliefs. As a response to all the love and hate coming our way across social platforms, we announce an increase in discount to 30%. politically correct Coupon Code – strike30."
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