New Delhi: Bowing down to incessant trolling and bullying, jewellery brand Tanishq on Tuesday withdrew its ad showing an interfaith family with a section of social media accusing the company of promoting ‘love jihad’ and ‘fake secularism’.

Hours later, the brand issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions” and that it was taking down the video.

“The idea behind the Ekavatam campaign is to celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities and families during these challenging times and celebrate the beauty of oneness. This film has stimulated divergent and severe reactions, contrary to its very objective,” the statement said.

“We are deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions and withdraw this film keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and well being of our employees, partners and store staff,” it says further.

The 43-second commercial, which led to the hashtag #BoycottTanishq trending on Twitter, shows a pregnant Hindu daughter-in-law in a Muslim household, as the family makes elaborate arrangements for her baby shower.

The description of the commercial reads: ”She is married into a family that loves her like their own child. Only for her, they go out of their way to celebrate an occasion that they usually don’t. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions, cultures”.

However, a section of social media users alleged that the advertisement promotes ‘love jihad’ and was anti-Hindu in sentiment.

After Tanishq pulled down the ad, the move prompted intense debate on social media, with some people criticising Tanishq and the Tata group for cowering to social media pressure, while some called out the bigoted trolls who are trying to spread hatred in society.