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Firm recalls shoes with Lord Ram images

June 10, 2005 20:59 IST

A French shoe manufacturer, which enraged Hindus by selling designer shoes with images of Lord Ram, has taken the product off shelves.

However, a leading Hindu organisation said that despite withdrawal of the sale of shoes by French company Minelli it will go ahead with a rally outside the French embassy in London on Sunday to protest against the shoe manufacturer's failure to apologise to Hindus and to also condemn religious intolerance in France.

"Minelli has not apologised to Hindus," Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said on Friday.

"Besides, the protest is against religious intolerance practiced in France where the government has refused to accord the status of a bonafide religion to Hindu temples, thus denying them legitimate tax benefits enjoyed by other religions," he said.

The Hindu Forum of Britain has asked Hindus worldwide to boycott all French goods and participate en masse in the protest rally outside the French embassy in London on Sunday.

The forum has also asked Hindus to stop flying by Air France and write to the International Olympic Committee suggesting that the selection of Paris as a venue for the 2012 Olympics 'will not be' in keeping with the ethos of human rights and religious freedom.

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