Five years after she alleged sexual harassment by Tamil poet and lyricist Vairamuthu, singer Chinmayi Sripada is still hopeful for justice. The singer lashed out at the ruling DMK for its “selective support” to those exploited by sexual offenders.
“I have only one request to chief minister MK Stalin. The rule cannot be different for sexual harassers aligned to a different party and different for somebody in your own circle. It is something I have been saying through the years. If they can speak for the justice of one set of people, they should be in a position to speak for others as well,” Sripaada told News18.
Sripada said all political parties were the same and did not speak up against all molesters and harassers. “The person who has the power to ban me is Radha Ravi; he is with the BJP. When he banned me, he was in the DMK and, in solidarity with Vairamuthu, he was prompt about banning me. My case has been going on for almost five years in the civil court,” she added.
The prominent singer also compared abuses and trolls she faced in 2018 when she spoke up against the lyricist, to those faced by Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik. “Wrestlers have brought pride to the nation. Sakshi has won us a medal in the Olympics. They are using the exact same lines for Sakshi as they did for me. I really hope that justice is served, not just for me but for everyone who is fighting a lone battle against sexual harassment and molestation because, somehow or the other, they all find a way to get close to some politician or a person in power,” the singer said.
Sripada further said her fight was a “lone battle” with no support from the film fraternity. She broke down while narrating that her family had been a pillar of strength for her during the tough fight against Vairamuthu.
“I continue to be abused every single day. In the last five years, I think I have performed a total of five songs whereas the kind of work that I was doing before that was far more. It’s been very lonely, which is why I completely lost faith and I expect nothing from my fraternity. I am able to fight only because of the backing of my family. It is tough but my family is backing me. I’m so glad that wrestlers are standing for each other,” she added.
Politics over Sripada’s accusations had escalated with the Tamil Nadu BJP lashing out at the DMK for its inaction on the issue. State president K Annamalai said: “There are 19 complaints against Vairamuthu. A singer has claimed for years that he sexually harassed her but he is not even questioned by police. This is because he is close to MK Stalin.”
The DMK has maintained that the law will take its own course and that the party was not protecting Vairamuthu. “What has happened in Delhi is different. It is the police that removed the agitating wrestlers and there is a role of the government in that case. Here, it is between two individuals. Chinmayi had registered a complaint. Let her pursue that complaint. I don’t know the nature of the complaint. We are not protecting anyone here. There are many petitions pending before the courts and the government cannot interfere in court cases. In Delhi, the police were involved in removing the agitators,” said party leader TKS Elangovan.
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