Cleanliness drive or film promotion? Yogi, Akshay’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in UP

On Friday, film actor Akshay Kumar cleaned a school in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Lucknow, August 4: It is always heartening to see VIPs holding brooms and cleaning filth and dirt from public spaces.

On Friday, the residents of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, felt really reassured that "good" VIPs do exist, as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar kick-started the cleanliness drive in the state by cleaning a school.

Kumar was also accompanied by his soon-to-be-released movie, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (Toilet: A Love Story), co-star Bhumi Pednekar.

All three were seen sweeping the school premises with brooms. Thereafter, both the CM and the Bollywood actor talked about the importance of maintaining cleanliness in and around our neighbourhood.

Lucknow: CM Yogi Adityanath begins cleanliness drive in the state, in a school; actors Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar also present pic.twitter.com/Cu9OiyqQpg

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However, many wondered what the Bollywood actors were doing in UP's cleanliness drive. It is not that celebrities don't endorse Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project--Swachh Bharat Abhiyan--the government's cleanliness drive.

But seeing Kumar and Pednekar in the cleanliness drive just before the release of their film, which revolves around the importance to end open defecation and use of toilet, many raised questions.

Leaders from the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) asked question like, "what was the CM doing in a film promotion event?" They also opined that the event did not look like a genuine attempt to make Lucknow clean, but just another film publicity event.

However, government officials deny such allegations. They say that seeing CM Adityanath and popular actor Kumar together cleaning the school will inspire citizens to keep their surroundings clean.

OneIndia News