Jallikattu will be conducted smoothly: TN

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said steps would be taken to ensure the smooth conduct of Jallikattu this Pongal.

The Opposition DMK also said that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has to take steps against the apex court’s verdict just like it did in the Cauvery issue.

Asserting that the state government could not bring any emergency ordinance to conduct the bull-taming sport, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said his government would ensure that Jallikattu is conducted smoothly.

“There is no question of backing down from organising Jallikattu,” the chief minister  added.

Further, a delegation of AIADMK MPs, led by Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambidurai, presented a memorandum to Union Minister of State for Environment Anil Madhav Dave, seeking promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to hold Jallikattu.

In the memorandum, addressed to the prime minister, AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala noted that “lifting the ban on Jallikattu would bring joy to Tamils all over the world”.

“The sporting event was inextricably linked to the rural and agrarian customs and practices and psyche of the Tamils, and also helps in the conservation of native germplasm since bulls with excellent physical attributes alone are reared for the sport,” the letter read.

DMK slams Centre

Addressing mediapersons at the party office on Wednesday, DMK working president M K Stalin recalled the stance of the Centre in the apex court against immediately setting up the Cauvery Management Board, and wondered why the Union government had not
taken a similar line of approach in the Jallikattu case, reports PTI. 

“When they can work against the Supreme Court in the Cauvery issue, they can do the same with Jallikattu, too,” he said.

Protests by students across the state, demanding lifting of the ban on Jallikattu, entered the second day on Wednesday.

In Madurai, Trichy, Thanjavur, Karaikudi, Salem, Coimbatore, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Kanyakumari,  several thousands of college students, including girls, boycotted classes and took out rallies.

They also threatened to defy the ban and conduct the sport if the Centre failed to pay heed their request.