When vice president Venkaiah Naidu was duped by fake weight-loss ads

Naidu shot off a letter to Union consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan highlighting his experience.

Even vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu has not been spared from the menace of fake advertisements.

Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu speaks in the House in New Delhi on Friday, during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. (PTI)

During a discussion in the Rajya Sabha, initiated by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Naresh Aggarwal, on adulteration of food articles, Naidu, who is the House chairman narrated how he was duped by an advertisement and ended up losing Rs1000.

Naidu told members that shortly after becoming the vice president, he came across an advertisement of a medication that promised to help lose a certain amount of weight in 28 days. It was priced at Rs1230, he said.

“I paid the money but after some days received a packet. When I opened it, there was a note which said that I have to pay some Rs1000 again to get the original medicine,” Naidu said.

It was then that Naidu shot off a letter to Union consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan highlighting his experience.

The latter immediately ordered an inquiry and informed Naidu that the company that issued the advertisement was based in United States. “There should be something done about such advertisements,” he said.