SURAT: Advertisement hoardings of a condom brand carrying the image of Sunny Leone and a message about Navratri has created controversy in Surat on Monday. A city-based group organised a protest against the advertisement posters and threatened to get aggressive about it if the hoardings are not removed.

Surat residents were surprised to see huge hoardings of a condom brand and soon the images went viral on mobile apps. The hoardings were put up across the city. Social media was agog about the advertisement that some said hurt the religious sentiments surrounding Navratri. In Gujarat, Navratri is one of the most important festivals in which nine forms of the Mother Goddess are worshiped for nine days.

“The message in Gujarati on the hoarding reads ‘Aa Navratri a ramo, parantu premthi’ – Play but with love, this Navratri. The insinuation on the hoardings from a condom brand insults the religious sentiments of Hindus,” said Narendra Chaudhary, businessman and president of Hindu Yuva Vahini. The group staged a protest at Udhna in the city.

“This cannot be tolerated and our protests will get stronger if these hoardings are not removed immediately. Protests are necessary to deter others from trying something similar again in future,” said Chaudhary.

