Actor Akshay Kumar on Friday said that he has never tried to hide that he holds a Canadian passport and he was disappointed his citizenship was “constantly dragged into needless controversy”.

“While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others,” he said in a statement on Twitter.

Kumar had recently faced criticism on social media for not casting his vote while several other celebrities had turned up at polling booths in Mumbai to cast their votes, including his wife and actor Twinkle Khanna.

Recently, a video clip shared on Twitter showed that actor dodging a question about casting his vote in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. In the video clip, a journalist is seen trying to elicit a response from Kumar on the criticism he gets for being unable to vote, and is cut short when the actor starts walking away without a response.

In 2017, Kumar had told Times Now that during the promotion of a movie he was bestowed with honorary citizenship by the Canadian government. Both Houses of the Parliament of Canada have to pass a resolution for a person to be granted honorary citizenship.

Here is his full statement:

I really don’t understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others. I would like to continue contributing in my small way to the causes that I believe in and make India stronger and stronger.