Amid a call for the boycott of Indian products in many Gulf countries, an Indian man’s video pushing for a tit-for-tat approach against Qatar Airways has gone viral. Now, in response to his viral video, a spoof of an interview of the Qatar Airways CEO is breaking the internet.
Following remarks by BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal against Prophet Mohammad, Vashudev in his Twitter video highlights how Qatar had offered refuge to painter M F Hussain who he claimed had “painted nude images of Hindu goddesses”, arguing the “same Qatar is now preaching to us”. His video pushed the hashtag #bycottQatarAirways to trend on the platform.
While few came up in his support, another Twitter user responded to his video with a spoof. Morphing an interview of Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker with Al Jazeera, Twitter user Ahad added a sarcastic commentary. “I cancelled all my meetings and flew straight to Qatar because Vashudev is our biggest shareholder. And he decided to boycott our lines from his headquarters which is the terrace of his house,” Al Baker appears to say in the doctored clip.
“He was having a power cut at that time in his neighbourhood and he made that devastating video,” he continues. “Vashudev is our biggest shareholder with a total investment of ₹624.50. We don’t know how to operate anymore. We have grounded all flights. Our operations are not running anymore,” the CEO is heard saying in the spoof video.
The CEO of Qatar airways now gives an interview to Aljazeera on the call for #BycottQatarAirwaysQatar by Vashudev
Watch till the end! https://t.co/ezBC8wYcv6 pic.twitter.com/8dkRZsCPHp— Ahad (@AhadunAhad11111) June 7, 2022
The Qatar Airways CEO is also heard urging the Indian man to take back his boycott appeal. He is also heard saying: “This is a special kind of boycott because it is b-y-c-o-t-t. Vashudev habibi, we are willing to give you one whole plane to make your TikTok videos or maybe we can give you two litres of petrol free.”
As the video garnered attention on social media, it also left many confused. However, realising it is a funny take on the boycott issue, netizens too joined with hilarious responses.
Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation joined Qatar, Kuwait and Iran, which had summoned Indian envoys Sunday, in condemning the remarks against Prophet Mohammad.
The BJP on its part has suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal while stating that it “respects all religions” and is “strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion”.