Jallikattu ban protests reach PM residence in Delhi, protesting PMK MP Anbumani Ramadoss detained

A group of students, too, gathered outside the Tamil Nadu Bhawan in New Delhi and raised slogans.

New Delhi, Jan 19: Even as Chennai remains the centre of the protests against the ban on bull-taming sport Jallikattu, the agitation has also reached Delhi on Thursday. PMK MP Anbumani Ramadoss sat in support of Jallikattu outside PM residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg and was detained by the police.

“Prime Minister refuses to meet me. I don’t have any other way but to sit outside his house till he meets me,” Ramadoss said.

A group of students, too, gathered outside the Tamil Nadu Bhawan in New Delhi and raised slogans demanding the ban on Jallikattu be lifted. Students of Amity University, Delhi University and other colleges circulated messages over Whatsapp and social media and gathered outside the Tamil Nadu Bhawan in the national capital. There are reports that protests may be staged at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi too.

Meanwhile, the protest at the Marina Beach in Chennai has been continuing to grow bigger by every hour. With no solution coming out of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, protesters have refused to budge. Protesters say they will continue their agitation till the ban on Jallikattu is lifted through an ordinance.

Panneerselvam on Thursday morning met Modi with the expectation of an ordinance to allow Jallikattu, which would have meant bypassing Supreme Court’s direct order. The Centre decided, even before Panneerselvam left Modi’s residence, to not intervene in the sub-judice matter.

The protests began on Monday when thousands of youth who were protesting in Alanganallur in Madurai district were taken into custody by the police after the protest extended overnight. Angered by these arrests, the villagers came out on the streets of Alanganallur.

The protesters began assembling outside Marina Beach on Wednesday after the arrest of Jallikattu ban protesters in Alanganallur in Madurai district. Along with Marina Beach, protests were also held in different parts of the state. The police on Tuesday night disconnected the power supply at Marina Beach. Despite that, the protesters continued their protest with the help of their mobile phone lights in the night. The protests are becoming widespread as students take to social media to garner more support throughout the country.