The Kalinga Sena on Wednesday strongly opposed the upcoming visit of mega star Amitabh Bachchan to the capital city, saying he should be allowed here only if he apologises to the people of the nation for promoting the Maggi noodles brand in TV.
Big B, the brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers, is scheduled to visit the State on June 5 (Friday) to inaugurate the company’s showroom at Shahid Nagar here.
“Three film stars, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta, have earned hefty sums by terming Maggi noodles as healthy in advertisements in TV. But now the UP Government has found monosodium glutamate and lead in excess of the prescribed limits in Maggi samples,” Sena president Hemanta Rath told reporters here.
He further stated that this wrong publicity amounts to malafide intentions and playing with the health of the kids and young people of Odisha and the country as well. “We oppose Amitabh Bachchan’s visit to Odisha. We will oppose him at the Biju Patnaik International Airport. We will not allow him to make his way to the venue unless he apologies for his blunder,” warned Rath.
In January 23, 2007 an activist of the regional political outfit had broken the police cordon and slapped the then Indian cricket team coach Greg Chappell when players of the Indian and West Indies teams arrived at the city airport. The Sena had claimed that its activists hit Chappell as no Odisha player had been included in the Indian cricket team.