Bangalore, Nov. 13: An unknown Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sympathiser posted a tweet last night asking e-tailer Myntra to remove cow-leather shoes from its catalogue but the Sangh today distanced itself from the tweeter.

"Govt should take action against @myntra for selling cow leather shoe and hurting sentiments of Hindus," the tweet from @RSS_Org had added, appearing to open a new front in the intolerance battle at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trumpeting India's business-friendliness in Britain.

But a tweet from the Sangh's official handle, @RSSOrg, today said: "We do not subscribe to the views expressed on @rss_org as it is not the official Twitter handle of RSS."

While the official handle has 1.72 crore followers, @RSS_Org - which tweets on virtually everything close to the Sangh's heart - has a following of nearly 70,000, many of them critics of its posts.

"As an organisation, we comment only through our official handle @RSSOrg and nothing else," Rajesh Padmar, the Sangh's Karnataka media chief, told The Telegraph.

Padmar, however, said the tweeter who had made the cowhide comment was obviously a Sangh sympathiser.

"We don't know the identity of the tweeter. But from the tweets we know it is one of many such handles operated by our sympathisers."

He said the Sangh didn't even want to join the debate over the tweet: "We will not comment on the subject discussed there."

Although the tweet hasn't had much impact in Bangalore, where Myntra is based, company officials preferred to remain tight-lipped.

"We are just sticking to whatever we tweeted yesterday (in response to the Sangh sympathiser's demand)," said a senior Myntra official who cannot be named since he is not authorised to speak to the media.

"The products they (the tweeter) mentioned are either fully imported or manufactured in India with imported leather. They are made from either cowhide or buffalo hide."

Myntra had last night responded to the Sangh sympathiser promptly.

"We appreciate your sentiments. We feel sorry if the sale of any particular item does not meet your approval. However, the product in question is an imported product and/or made from imported leather," the company had tweeted.

"The sale of leather products is not illegal in India. Please be assured that we function within legally permissible norms." The Sangh sympathiser's tweet came just two days after the Modi government announced a slew of big-bang FDI reforms in 15 sectors, including e-commerce and retail.

Among those who protested the demand was a post in @IYC, the Youth Congress handle, which said: "@RSS_Org Pls suggest what to do with skin of dead cow, should it be left to be eaten by crows/vultures or you will carry last rites."

Myntra, one of the premier e-commerce companies in the country, sells fashion and lifestyle products of various brands. The shopping platform, which went app-only in May, receives more than 50 million visits every month.

Its former rival Flipkart bought Myntra in a deal estimated to be around $370 million (over Rs 2,400 crore) in May this year. The acquisition was seen as a move by Flipkart to take on Amazon.