Burger brand faces backlash for celebrating IAF strike on Pakistan with special code

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India's air strike on Pakistan in the wake of Pulwama terror attack triggered happiness among countrymen. India confirmed that it carried out “non-military, preemptive action” on Tuesday against a major terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan’s Balakot killing approx 300 militants who were undergoing training. Cashing in on the opportunity, Delhi-based burger chain sent a message to its customers to celebrate the air strike with a special discount. The fast food chain offered a special promotional code by using which customers can avail 20 per cent discount on online orders. 

The message was followed by a hashtag #SorryNotSorry along with a promo code #FPAKAGAIN. Burger Singh also put out an edited clip from Pulp Fiction on their website and social media pages and wrote,''In light of today's airstrike by the IAF on Pakistani terror camps, we offer a 20% discount on all orders on burgersinghonline.com Coupon code: FPAKAGAIN #Sorrynotsorry .#Surgicalstrike2 #FPAK20 #IndianAirForce #IndiaStrikesBack #Balakot #FPAKAGAIN #howsthejosh''.

However, their promotional strategy “in light of the airstrike on the Jaish terror camps” received a mixed response on internet. While some thought it was a good move, others slammed it for using people's emotions to mint money. ''Such tasteless & insensitive advertising by #BurgerSingh,'' wrote one user whereas another one wrote, ''If the news of the IAF air strikes from this morning weren’t enough to make anyone’s day, here is a screenshot of Burger Singh being absolutely savage about it. #BadlaPulwamaKa''.

When indianexpress.com contacted the food chain, it released a statement saying that everyone can't agree to one's view. ''We understand that this an emotionally charged subject and so we think it’s appropriate for us to respond. We also understand that it is practically impossible to say something and have everyone agree with you. Having said that, we are not the aggressors in this unfortunate scenario at our borders and India as a nation is morally obliged to take care of its people. The Indian armed forces are fulfilling that obligation. We support our troops and will continue to celebrate India’s non-military preemptive action against terror and it’ll be hard to convince us otherwise''.

This is not the first time Burger Singh has come up with such a tactic. Last time, after surgical strike, they announced a similar offer of 20 per cent discount, which was later increased up to 30 per cent. The brand claimed that it received a huge response but later withdrew it after receiving backlash.

On a related note, 40 CRPF personnel martyred on February 14 after suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into one of the buses in the convoy transporting them.