Four days after his insensitive remarks on children with disabilities at a public rally, DMK leader and actor Radha Ravi has refused to apologise for his hurtful mockery on stage. In an interview to Polimer News, Radha Ravi claimed that his intention was not to hurt persons with disabilities. He further insisted that he was not the 'type to apologise'.
The newly-returned member of the DMK had kicked up a storm when he mocked children with disabilities at a public speech during DMK leader MK Stalin's birthday celebrations on March 1. In a video doing the rounds on social media, Ravi can be seen equating his political rivals to disabled children. Radha Ravi played out an ugly mime on stage, even as members of the audience applauded the insensitive statements and action.
The speech, widely circulated on social media, led to public uproar. A complaint was also filed against Radha Ravi at the Teynampet police station by members of the December 3 Movement, a disabled rights activists group in Tamil Nadu.
In response to this, the DMK leader said, “I didn't say anything that would hurt them. Let them file a case." He further declared, “I want to ask, do they want to give me a list of words that I can and cannot use? This would be like what the censor board did. You have to call a ‘naai’ (dog) a 'naai'. What do you want me to say? Dog come here? It is a problem if I say it in Tamil but it alright if I say it in English?"
Ravi's refusal to apologise comes despite DMK MP Kanimozhi condemning his speech. In a Facebook post on Friday, Kanimozhi wrote, “Radha Ravi should stop speaking about differently-abled people in a derogatory and mocking fashion. Kalaignar's cadre will not accept this. Having disabilities is indeed a small obstacle. But it is when you're emotionally weak that it is an even bigger obstacle. The differently-abled are people who have broken these emotional barriers."
Her words however seem to have had no effect on Ravi, who recently left the AIADMK to join the DMK in February.
Reacting to his refusal to apologise, activist Deepak Nathan said, “His second comment was even more shocking than the first. At least if we had repented what he said, we would have considered letting the matter go. Now we are waiting for the police to file an FIR. If they don't, we will take the matter directly to the court. The words he used were not the problem, the message he conveyed was. I request DMK Working President to sack such an insensitive leader from his party immediately."