Retail giant Amazon removed Indian flag-themed doormats from its website on Thursday after a government warning and widespread uproar in the country.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told Amazon on Wednesday it must apologise unconditionally and withdraw all products insulting the flag from its website or have the visas of company officials cancelled.
The doormats, sold by a third-party on Amazon's Canadian website, were removed by early Thursday, hours after Swaraj issued the warning.
"The item is no longer available for sale on the site," an Amazon spokesperson said.
The sale of the doormats infuriated Indians who threatened to boycott the company saying the product violated India's flag code.
Under the code, desecration of the national flag is punishable with fines and imprisonment of up to three years. Many vented their anger on the official Twitter account of the company.
US-based Amazon, which launched its India operations in 2013, has been aggressively expanding in the country with investments of billions of dollars in recent years.
