దేశంలో, రాష్ట్రంలో బాలికల మీద జరుగుతున్న ఆకృత్యాల పై, రాష్ట్ర ముఖ్యమంత్రి చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు, తీవ్ర వేదనతో, రాష్ట్ర ప్రజలకు బహిరంగ లేఖ రాసారు... "It started with a few cases of eve-teasing and harassment. Even then, many years ago in my youth, sexual molestation was not unheard of, but such cases were rare. Today, when I think of how far we've come as a society in dealing with such issues, I feel extreme disappointment. Waking up every day to the news of women and innocent children being molested, raped and killed at such an alarming rate has shaken me up. As the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, I am extremely disturbed to hear about children becoming victims of such crimes in my own State. It has to be the darkest era where all boundaries of morality and humanity have been shattered!
Even this tremendous amount of shock has not been able to suppress the anger and rage that I feel inside. As a human being, my heart cries with horror and pain. As a Chief Minister, I will take every measure to make sure that the criminals are not spared and have to face the most severe punishment. But today, I write this letter for a bigger reason. I want to appeal to the morality of my people, I want all of us to wake up to the harsh reality and realize that it is our collective responsibility as a society, to ensure the safety of our loved ones. Our sons need to be raised to respect women, they need to learn the difference between right and wrong so that they go on to become responsible citizens of the country. Any kind of bad behaviour should be corrected at the young age itself. Boys and girls should be raised equally so that the boys don't grow up thinking that they are superior.
Women and children should not feel threatened moving around in the society, instead they should be free and safe in their environment. Children should be made aware of how they can be safe, and parents should be vigilant at all times. Women should know that if ever faced with harassment, they can alert the police, use self-defence techniques to protect themselves, and alert the people around them. The government will take all the measures to control crime rates in the State, but it is only together as a society that we can put an end to such incidents. Let us build a better and safer environment for our women and children to live in. Let us take the pledge to fight together and unite against the criminals to protect our women and children!"
