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I never denied I hold Canadian passport: Akshay Kumar

I never denied I hold Canadian passport: Akshay Kumar

By Siddhant Pandey
May 03, 2019
06:36 pm
What's the story

Ever since Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar did that apolitical interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, he has been trolled heavily on social media. After Akshay was seen dodging a question about his absence from polling booths, several people brought up Akshay's Canadian citizenship. Now, the 51-year-old actor defends himself saying that his citizenship is a "personal, legal, non-political" matter.

Details

'Never hidden or denied I hold a Canadian passport'

"I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport," Akshay wrote in a Twitter post. The actor went on to say that he pays all his taxes here and will continue "contributing in my small ways" as he wants to make the country "stronger and stronger."

Twitter Post

Here is his full statement

Dispute

Akshay claims to be an honorary Canadian, but is he?

Akshay added, "I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others." He claims to have honorary citizenship of Canada. However, reports listing honorary Canadians do not mention Akshay. An article of Vancouver Observer though does state that Akshay was granted citizenship papers "within weeks."

Twitter Post

In the past, Akshay claimed to be an honorary Canadian

Recent events

Akshay was absent from polling booths this year

Polls were conducted in Mumbai for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections earlier this week. While Akshay's wife and several of his contemporaries were spotted at polling booths or shared pictures of inked fingers on social media, Akshay was missing from the picture. Later, a video surfaced on social media where a reporter asked him about voting, but Akshay said, "Chaliye beta," and walked off.

Twitter Post

Reporter questions Akshay about his absence from polling booths

Backstory

Earlier, PM Modi had asked Akshay to promote voting

In April, the Prime Minister had tweeted asking Akshay to promote voting. "The power of a vote is immense and we all need to improve awareness on its importance," Modi had tweeted. Akshay responded by saying, "The true hallmark of a democracy lies in people's participation in the electoral process. Voting has to be a superhit prem katha between our nation and its voters."

Twitter Post

In April, Akshay promoted voting on Twitter