Akshay Kumar’s Canadian citizenship issue has become a point of heated discussions between those in favour and against it. Akshay did not cast his vote in Bombay on 29th April because he can’t vote as he is a Canadian citizen.
While the actor clarified that his Canadian citizenship was honorary, the fact is that it is not honorary. According to a report, only six people have ever received honorary Canadian citizenship, and Akshay is not one of them. Honorary citizens of Canada do not hold a passport, and citizenship is only symbolic without any rights or privileges. The same report says that the actor was given Canadian citizenship within weeks of him applying for it.
No doubt, Akshay has been among the highest individual tax-payers in the country but the fact remains that he opted for Canadian citizenship. His recent talks on nationalism as also his nationalist-themed films have all come under a cloud because the actor had lied about the citizenship. In fact, editor Apurva Asrani wondered in his tweet if Canadian citizens were eligible for National Awards in India. Akshay Kumar won the National Award for the Best Actor in 2016.