Cartoonist thanks collector, police for popularising his work

Tirunelveli: “I have drawn more than 10,000 cartoons over the last 15 years. Most of them were strong ones on politics and politicians. I have even drawn caricatures of then chief minister M Karunanidhi with a loin cloth. I have drawn strong cartoons of J Jayalalithaa when she was chief minister but no defamation cases were filed against me. They respected my works as a cartoonist,”

cartoonist

Bala told TOI after getting bail on Monday.

Charging the Tamil Nadu government with being defunct and under the control of the Centre, Bala said that it should learn tolerance and learn to look at a cartoon with a socialistic view and act on the issues instead of resorting to registering cases against cartoonists.

Stating that he only ripped apart the government and administration through the cartoon he said that it was not aimed at hurting any individual. “I suspect the collector was made to file a case against me as I have been strongly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister in other cartoons,” he said. The government is also arresting those criticising the governments on social media. Such arrests are not good for the government, he said.

Unable to control tears rolling down his cheeks as he spoke on the two girls who burnt to death at the Tirunelveli collectorate on October 23, he said that the incident left him sleepless for two days. “I felt that both my daughters were burning to death. In a fit of rage and based on preliminary information I got on the incident I drew it,” he said, and tendered an apology to the collector.

He also appreciated the collector for his efforts to work for the downtrodden. However, he thanked him for lodging the complaint and the police as they have not only shot him to fame but also popularised the cartoon, his Facebook page and website. Undeterred by the ordeal he underwent in the last two days, he said that he will be coming out with stronger cartoons on the Prime Minister and chief minister.

Stating that police have seized his computer the only backup source for all his cartoons and his mobile phone, at the time of his arrest, he wished that they return all without deleting them. “Only around 4,000 cartoons have been published in print,” he added.