Rajinikanth, speaking at a private event held for Shree Daya Foundation’s Peace For Children initiative, said that the Central and State Governments in India did little to address the concerns of children.
He said, “They are the future. They inherit the world. And yet, India does not spend even one percent of the amount set aside for the development of children in foreign countries. I blame the government for the state of our children. They are like living flowers. They are our gifts. We must look after their welfare.”
Organisations like Shree Daya Foundation, under the helm of Chairperson Latha Rajinikanth, fill this gap and try to do their best for India’s future, Rajinikanth said. “Since I’ve known her, Latha has always been very concerned about children. She loves children and talks about them constantly. She has dedicated her time to this cause for which I appreciate her very much. A time will come when she is not Latha, Rajinikanth’s wife. Instead, I will be Rajinikanth, Latha’s husband,” he said.
Society has become numb to the suffering of others, said the actor. “We see children begging on the roads and we do nothing. We just walk past them. We have become numb,” he said.
Even the Police don’t do anything to eradicate this problem, says the actor. “How long is it going to take to investigate who makes these children beg. There is a big mafia behind them. They completely eradicate the child’s past and future. They pick up the children from somewhere and erase their entire history. They make them into beggars. These children die a thousand deaths everyday of their lives. It is equal to killing them,” Rajinikanth said.
A fitting punishment must be brought in place for such criminals, he added: “The punishment for destroying their lives and killing their dreams must be equal to that of killing a person.”
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The Shree Daya Foundation’s Peace For Children initiative was launched in August this year. Latha Rajinikanth says that the group wants to create a better environment for children.
She said, since little importance is given for the welfare of children, “Through the initiative, I wish to bring the community together to raise awareness about issues which need attention to create a better environment for them.”