In an opinion piece for The Times of India, actress Gautami Tadimalla slammed the current state of governance in Tamil Nadu, and talked about the “turmoil and insecurity” in the state for the past six months. The actress, who has in the past, written open letters about the demise of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, said that “the votes and trust of the people of Tamil Nadu have been betrayed now”.
“We, the people of Tamil Nadu, have seen our votes, and the trust inherent in them, betrayed in the most blatant, callous and reprehensible manner. The framework for forming a government that has been laid out in our Constitution, has been unconscionably manipulated in a morally bankrupt manner to seize political power. We have stood witness helplessly as the events of the past several months have been foisted upon us. And at the end of all the machinations and manipulations, we are far from having a sensitive and proactive government,” she wrote.
She further highlighted the plight of farmers, who have taken to protesting relentlessly in New Delhi, in a bid to get some aid from the government.
“Sustained non-governance of this kind will lead to a situation where it might well take the next decade or so to recover. Our farmers were protesting in our nation’s capital for a justice that is primarily the responsibility of the State government.”
The actress’s opinion piece comes soon after the Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court that not a single farmer committed suicide due to drought in the State and that they died of “natural causes”. The court was hearing a petition on drought and farmer suicides in the State, which alleged that there have been 82 farmer suicides in Tamil Nadu. While the government said it had given Rs 3 lakh each to the families, the farmers have since expressed their shock and disbelief considering their protests in New Delhi are about their friends and peers who’d committed suicide without any aid from the government.
Much like her previous piece that was addressed to the Prime Minister, Gautami concluded that she has faith in the people of Tamil Nadu. “We are responsible, proactive and socially responsible citizens. We have proven this through the crises that have struck us over the past few months,” she said.
