Actor Ferdous apologises for India polls gaffe

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 20:13, Apr 17, 2019 | Updated : 20:22, Apr 17, 2019

Ferdous joined Trinamool rallies in Raiganj, north Bengal, on Sunday and Monday (Apr 14 and 15) and solicited votes for the party’s candidate in the constituency Kanaia Lal Agarwal. TwitterBangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed has apologised for taking part in an Indian polls campaign amidst tremendous backlash and criticism.
The actor landed in troubled waters as India blacklisted him after joining an election campaign of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party.
He had remained quite on the issue since returning to the country on Tuesday (Apr 16) after Indian authorities revoked his visa.
However, in a statement sent to Bangla Tribune on Wednesday (Apr 17), the actor said that his taking part in the campaign was “an impulsive decision and a mistake.”
He said that he was shooting for a film and had no prior plans to take part in the campaign and simply got carried away.
“I understand that it was a mistake to impulsively participate in the polls campaign with my colleagues,” reads the statement.
Indian media reported that the government ordered Ferdous to leave the country after receiving report from Bureau of Immigration regarding visa violations.Ferdous admitted that the incident had led to widespread confusion and it was inappropriate for him to campaign for an Indian political party despite being a Bangladeshi citizen.
The actor added that his intention was not to disrespect anyone and that he harboured respect towards the Indian law and all its political party alike.
Ferdous joined Trinamool rallies in Raiganj, north Bengal, on Sunday and Monday (Apr 14 and 15) and solicited votes for the party’s candidate in the constituency Kanaia Lal Agarwal.
Opposition parties in West Bengal, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had protested his appearance saying that a foreign national taking part in the campaign was against the law.
The Indian government ordered the actor to leave the country after receiving report from Bureau of Immigration regarding visa violations, the Hindustan Times reported citing a statement from the union home ministry.

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