The brother of deceased NEET aspirant Anitha from Ariyalur district will be filing a complaint against the state's Tamil language and culture minister Mafoi Pandiarajan on Sunday. Maniratnam has decided to approach the police after the minister shared a video on his Twitter handle where Anitha's videos have been manipulated and been used to oppose the DMK and blame them for her death. Following criticism under the post, he later deleted it.
In the video, which is a compilation of news snippets from various Tamil channels, a voiceover made to sound like it is Anitha herself speaking, says that over 400 students from underprivileged families are studying medicine and that it is Jayalalithaa's government that has ensured this. The voice then goes on to say that instead of doing such positive things, the DMK is killing 'us' for their own political motives. The voice in the video then says that the sun has set on 17 students, in reference to the DMK's rising sun symbol and warns viewers to not forget or forgive what the DMK did.
Speaking to TNM, Maniratnam points out that this is a huge insult to the 17-year-old who died by suicide in 2017. He will be filing a complaint in the Senthurai police station with his lawyer.
"He can't morph her voice to further his politics. It is like they are insulting her death. She died because of their decisions but now they are making it look like she is supporting them," he says. "If the minister had spoken over the video, it is fine. But how can they make it look like Anitha spoke?" he asks.
Maniratnam points out that the AIADMK has been using NEET and Anitha as part of their election propaganda.
"We have no objection to anyone using what happened to her for politics. They have the right to discuss this and give their versions. But to use her voice is a new low and not at all acceptable," he says.