Cartoonist Bala exposed Tirunelveli district collector's inactivity: Journalist Mani

A week after the arrest of Tamil Nadu cartoonist Bala, a regional journalist, Mani, said that the former faced legal actions just for exposing the inactivity of the Kasidharmam's District Collector.

"When the inactivity of the DC was exposed by cartoonist Bala, it provoked them and he filed a case that the cartoon demeaned himself," Mani said.

Mani elaborated the sequences that led to Bala's arrest and said, "The incident begins in Tirunelveli district. In every village, giving interest is exploiting and pushes poor people to death. In a village called Kasidharmam, a family along with small children burned themselves in front of the collector office but no action was taken".

"When the inactivity of the DC was exposed by cartoonist Bala, through a cartoon showing these authorities naked protecting themselves while watching the family burn, it provoked them. The cartoon demeaned him but the burning of the poor people, the chronic disease of interest did not," he added.

He further stressed that even though the DC has a right to file a case, it is not needed to arrest the person if he is not supposed to run away or damage the witnesses.