Here's why a demand by a Swiggy customer in Hyderabad triggered outrage

A demand by a customer in Hyderabad on food delivery app Swiggy has triggered an outrage with many people demanding the company to blacklist the customer.

The customer asked Swiggy not to deliver his order through a Muslim. "Don't want a Muslim delivery person", the customer wrote in the instruction box given on top of the app.

The picture of the request went viral on social media, evoking words of condemnation from many. Many netizens decried the attempt to give a communal colour even to food delivery and urged Swiggy to act against this act of blatant bigotry.

Shaik Salauddin, national General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), took to Twitter to demand Swiggy to take a stand against bigoted request.

"Dear @Swiggy please take a stand against such a bigoted request. We (Delivery workers) are here to deliver food to one and all, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh @Swiggy @TGPWU Mazhab Nahi Sikhata Aapas Mein Bair Rakhna," tweeted Salauddin, who is also founder and state President of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union.

While Swiggy has not yet reacted to the request for action against the customers, some prominent faces too demanded the food delivery app to act.

Congress MP Karti P. Chidambaram supported Saluddin's demand. "Platform companies cannot sit back and watch as gig workers face such blatant bigotry in the name of religion. What action will such companies take to safeguard the rights of gig workers?" he asked.

Prominent Hindu activist Rahul Easwar too requested Swiggy to blacklist the customer. He wrote that the customer is spreading hate against "our Muslim brothers". He went on to add that such hate mongers demean India.

This is not the first time that such a request has been made by a customer on food delivery apps. In June, a man in Madhya Pradesh cancelled an order from Zomato saying his request to change a non-Hindu rider was not accepted.

"just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non Hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel," tweeted the customer identified as Amit Shukla.

Zomato had responded, saying: "Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion".

--IANS

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