Have you been ranting about corruption and how it has impacted you? Chennai-based rights and advocacy group, Arappor Iyakkam along with activists and citizens will be launching a campaign against corruption on Sunday at Mylapore Mangollai in Chennai.
The campaign ‘Kollayane Veliyeru’ will be kickstarted on Sunday during a public meeting in Chennai. The public meeting will be going on from 5pm to 9pm. “This is an anti-corruption movement for Tamil Nadu, we do not have a movement in our state so we are initiating this movement for the people, activists and other organizations,” said Chandramohan, member of Arappor Iyakkam told TNM.
Asked about the outcome of the campaign, “The ultimate goal is to remove corruption from the state, some of the other things are to bring the Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the two states in India where Lokayukta is not there. We want to put pressure on the government to enact it. It is also becoming a police state and the democratic voice is completely being suppressed. We do not have a place to have continuous protest, so we are demanding a place in every district for a continuous protest,” said Chandramohan.
Moreover, the rights group also want to come up with whistle blowers’ protection plan. “We want to give a platform for people who have evidences against corruption and tell them to send all the evidence we will take action. It is a battle we cannot fight alone. We are also planning an empowerment ride, awareness campaign, how to curb corruption, how to fight it,” said Chandramohan.
It is an open invitation for all the organization, he said. “We are trying to bring everyone together. Goal is to demand a transparency and accountability how they operate. Every two or three months, we will target individual government departments. We want to empower people and encourage them not to bribe,” said Chandramohan.
Hitting out at the present Tamil Nadu government, he also said, “People have been fighting individually or as an organization against corruption. But it is such a big menace that it cannot be handled by one or two. People have to come together, somebody has to bring them together and fight. From sand mafia to granite scam, everything is filled with corruption, we have reached a breaking point and there is lot of anger in people and they are angry with the current group who are governing our state.”