After Jallikattu protests attracted huge strength across Tamil Nadu, chief minister O Panneerselvam said he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to get an ordinance passed in favor of the customary bull-taming sport. The government may take a kind approach, but would wait for the Supreme Court’s ultimate order, said sources in the ministry.
Meanwhile, over 10,000 students amassed at Marina Beach in Chennai on Wednesday to protest against Jallikattu ban. Police took 14 protesters, all law students, to Panneerselvam for a meeting at his residence in the evening.
Following the 10-minute meeting, the students told reporters that they won’t scatter regardless of the CM assuring them that he would speak to the PM.
A huge protest continues across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday with thousands of people joining in Madurai, Chennai, Salem and Coimbatore against the Jallikattu ban. The protests started in Madurai after Pongal festival spread to other parts of the state and police detained more than 200 protesters on Tuesday morning.
More than 5,000 protesters vowed to keep on their demonstration through the night and Wednesday on Marina beach after the dialogue with state minister D Jayakumar failed on late Tuesday evening.
Protesters demanded that they will end the protests only after their demands of lifting ban on Jallikattu, banning PETA, the animal rights organisation, and releasing compensation for all drought-hit farmers are met by the Centre.
Initially, a group of 50 protesters gathered on Tuesday morning for a day-long protest. But later it turned into a massive gathering of more than 3,000 people by late evening. Significantly, IT professionals, workers, students and even families with children are among the crowd.
The protesters succeeded to manage such crowd with the help of numerous social media groups. They also slammed media for allegedly disregarding the coverage of their protests in the early stage. Leading film celebrities including actors Vijay, Simbu, Surya and directors Ameer, Karthik Subbaraj expressed solidarity with protesters.
The movement is leading to a law and order situation, said a senior police official. “We cannot let a huge crowd remain there for one more day. We hope some political decisions from the government will soon settle the issue,” he said.
