P Chidambaram: 'Not ordered food so far, will do so now from Zomato'

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday said he will start ordering from Zomato after the food delivery company refused to resolve a customer's complaint about being assigned a Muslim delivery executive for his order.

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram said that he never ordered food on Zomato, but also asserted that he will. Here's his tweet:

READ: Zomato User's Tweet That Resulted In A Nationwide Controversy Over Food, Religion Et Al Is No Longer Available

His response came after the company responded to its customer saying:

"Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion."

The tweet was liked by several thousands and 'Zomato' was trending on Twitter after the response. On Tuesday night, a man had tweeted about cancelling his order placed on Zomato as the designated rider was a "non-Hindu". In a series of tweets, he also shared screenshots of his conversation with Zomato's customer care, saying he would take up the issue with his lawyers. The company stood its ground and flatly refused to change the delivery executive. Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal echoed his company's stand, with a firm message. "We are proud of the idea of India - and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren't sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values," he tweeted.

READ: Zomato's 'Food Has No Religion' Comment Sparks Massive Social Media Debate Around Halal And Jhatka, #BoycottZomato #BoycottUberEats Trending

However, the tweet has erupted into a nation-wide controversy. The reason behind the disappearance of the user's tweet was not immediately known. Despite support from UberEats, Zomato's now-famous 'food has no religion' comment has been subject to wide criticism from a set of users who have accused Zomato of 'Hypocrisy' and 'Double standards' resulting in some fresh debates around why Zomato displays 'Halal' as a food preference to users. Zomato responded:

"The halal tag on Zomato is a result of restaurants seeking that distinction - not us as an aggregator. Restaurants (whether a Muslim establishment or otherwise) serving meat specifically obtain halal certification by an all-India body," 

READ: Amidst Raging Debates, Zomato Shares “Food For Thought” Detailing Food Tags Placed On Food Types, Tweet Goes Viral Rapidly 

(With PTI inputs)