Mahatma Gandhi’s photo on beer cans in Russia: In what comes as a shocking revelation, a Russian brewery has reportedly used Mahatma Gandhi’s image on its beer cans. The controversy gained significance as the photos of beer cans with the label “Mahatma G.” produced by Russian brand Rewort surfaced in social media. The matter got traction as Suparno Satpathy, politician and grandson of former Odisha chief minister Nandini Satpathy mentioned the incident in a post on X as he requested PM Modi to take up the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Odisha politician raises the issue
Satpathy’s post on X reads, “My humble request with PM Narendra Modi ji is to take up this matter with his friend, President of Russia. It has been found that Russia’s Rewort is selling beer in the name of Gandhi ji.”
The post gained traction with other social media users expressing their ire over the disrespectful act. One of the social media users called it “shocking & unacceptable”, while another quipped, “Stop using his name (Gandhi’s) and image on alcohol.”
A similar incident that occurred in Israel
In 2019, in a similar incident, an Israeli company stoked controversy by putting the image of Mahatma Gandhi on its liquor bottles. This was reportedly done by the brand to commemorate Israel’s 71st Independence Day.
The matter also reached the Indian Parliament as Rajya Sabha members expressed concern over the picture of the Father of the Nation on liquor bottles in Israel. The brand later apologised to the people and the Government of India. “Malka Beer offers its heartfelt apologies to the people and the Government of India for hurting their sentiments,” the company said in a statement.
“We highly respect and value Mahatma Gandhi and regret our action of putting his image on our bottles,” Gilad Dror, the Brand Manager of the company said.
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