Several South Indian actresses were recently in Sri Lanka to celebrate Thai Pongal at a festival held in the up-country area.

The relevant Thai Pongal celebration had been organised by Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) General Secretary Minister Jeevan Thondaman in his constituency in the Hatton area.

Popular South Indian actresses Aishwarya Rajesh, Aishwarya Dutta, Samyuktha Menon, and Meenakshi had attended Thondaman’s event. The actresses were seen taking selfies at the event and the people who attended had been excited to see their favourite South Indian actresses.

Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture Vidura Wickramanayake had also participated at the event. 

Meanwhile, Thondaman was reportedly at the centre of controversy over the presence of South Indian actresses at the event.

According to reports, Thondaman is under fire from his political opponents who have questioned whether these South Indian actresses had been sponsored using taxpayers’ money despite the Government having declared austerity measures as part of the economic recovery programme.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Passara Organiser Letchumanar Sanjay has questioned why Thondaman had celebrated the Thai Pongal festival in such a luxurious manner at a time when people were suffering due to the soaring cost of living.

The Opposition politician has further asked why Thondaman had not invited local artistes for the event, instead of South Indian actresses.

However, Thondaman has responded to the criticism saying that the event had been organised by several State institutions as the National Thai Pongal Festival and that the South Indian actresses had been invited for the event as a measure to promote tourism. He has further stated that the participation of South Indian actresses would help relations between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and serve as a measure to empower women in the up-country region.