Actor Riz Ahmed and actress Jameela Jamil have withdrawn from the Goalkeepers Event, in which PM Narendra Modi will receive an award by Bill Gates.
The Gates Foundation, run by Bill and Melinda Gates, is set to honour Modi for his cleanliness campaign, Swach Bharat Abhiyaan. The Foundation confirmed to a news source this week that Jamil and Ahmed will not be joining them for the ceremony.
Jamil also confirmed that she would not be attending the event, however she refused to provide the cause for her justification.
Ahmed has remained silent on the matter so far.
It is likely that their decision to exclude themselves from the campaign is in protest of India’s current stance with Kashmir- hopefully, it will be taken as such. However, it would certainly be more helpful if celebrities were more vocal about their disapproval.