Goa BJP chief hails Akshay Kumar for ending association with tobacco brand but adds: ‘Don’t be like Big B’

Panji: A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa Thursday thanked the Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for removing his “association with a the tobacco It may be noted that the superstar had apologized to his fans for appearing in an ad campaign for a brand of paan masala and said he was withdrawing his association.

“It was truly a laudable step you took. But your action shouldn’t be like Big B who apologized and then went back to promoting tobacco in another way,” the head of the magazine tweeted. the medical cell of Goa BJP, Shekhar Salkar.

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Salkar, who is also a board member of the National Organization for Tobacco Eradication, had on Wednesday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strip Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchanand Shah Rukh Khan their Padma Awards for appearing in alternative tobacco advertisements.

“I have no words to condemn the way Akshay Kumar joined the gang of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgan to promote cancer through a tobacco product substitute. Ironically, all of these people are Padma award winners,” Salkar tweeted. .

He added, “While @PMOIndia is working overtime to make India healthy through the Fit India movement, the whole mission is humiliated by these so called influencers with their surrogate advt trapping the younger generation in consumption of tobacco. Do these actors really deserve Padmashri.”

Amitabh Bachchan received the Padma Vibhushan award, while Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar received the Padmashri award, the country’s fourth highest civilian honour.

Akshay Kumar, who recently appeared in an ad campaign for a brand of paan masala, apologized to his fans on Thursday and announced he was withdrawing his association with the brand.

The actor has faced heavy criticism, with social media users unearthing an old video of the actor in which he pledged to never endorse tobacco.

Taking to Twitter, the 54-year-old actor posted a message saying, “I’m sorry.”

Kumar announced that he would now be “stepping back” from the brand, donating his entire fee to a “worthy cause”.

“I would like to apologize to you, all of my fans and supporters. Your reaction over the past few days has affected me deeply. While I do not endorse or approve of tobacco, I respect the outpouring of your feelings in light of my association…”

“In all humility, I take a step back. I have decided to donate the entire sponsorship fee to a noble cause.”

Earlier, megastar Amitabh Bachchan also pulled out of a paan masala branded ad campaign and returned the ad money he received for it.