Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has been held at the crossroad of an advertisement about road safety. The BJP leader shared a tweet promoting an advertisement encouraging 6 airbags instead of 2 in cars.
The advertisement featuring Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar revolves around marriage. A father was seen departing his daughter after marriage. A policeman, played by Akshay Kumar, was standing next to the father and mocked him for sending his daughter in a car containing 2 airbags and risking her safety.
“Make life safer by traveling in a vehicle with 6 airbags (rough translation),” Nitin Gadkari stated in the tweet.
6 एयरबैग वाले गाड़ी से सफर कर जिंदगी को सुरक्षित बनाएं।#राष्ट्रीय_सड़क_सुरक्षा_2022#National_Road_Safety_2022 @akshaykumar pic.twitter.com/5DAuahVIxE
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) September 9, 2022
The tweet received backlash as several people including the opposition parties perceived it as a way to promote dowry culture. “This is such a problematic advertisement. Who passes such creatives? Is the government spending money to promote the safety aspect of a car or promoting the evil & criminal act of dowry through this ad?,” tweeted Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.
TMC spokesperson, Saket Gokhale, reacted to the “controversial” advertisement by saying it was, “disgusting to see the Indian government officially promoting dowry.”
On the other hand, Gadkari appreciated the Bollywood actor’s efforts to help the government spread awareness of road safety. “We’re committed to bringing down road accidents in India with awareness and public participation,” the Union Minister stated.
