DMK to hold state-wide protest against ban on Jallikattu

CHENNAI: Protests erupted across Tamil Nadu on Thursday after the Supreme Court decided against passing an order permitting Jallikattu before Pongal. The Opposition party DMK blamed the Centre and the state government for the development and announced a state-wide stir on Friday. The party blamed both governments for ‘not taking appropriate, timely steps’ to ensure conduct of the event. With the Supreme Court refusing to intervene, the 2014 ban on the traditional Tamil sport remains.

A students’ protest in Madurai turned violent when police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse them. The agitators said it was a peaceful protest and they were on their way to the collector’s office to submit a letter in support of the Jallikattu when police stopped them.

Both the ruling AIADMK and Opposition DMK came out with statements portraying the importance of Jallikattu to Tamil culture, and vowed to push the Centre in this regard.


Recalling the assurances of both Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan that efforts would be made to conduct the stalled sport, DMK working president MK Stalin asked: “What answers are they going to give now? What is going to be their answer to the Tamil Nadu people and the youth?” He wanted Panneerselvam and Radhakrishnan to answer the people on the present situation, adding his party continued to be firm in its stand supporting Jallikattu. Referring to his party’s January 3 protest in Madurai urging the state and central governments to take immediate steps to conduct Jallikattu, he said: “Still both the governments did not give importance to this issue.”

“As usual, though Chief Minister Panneerselvam wrote a letter to the Centre on the issue, he did not visit Delhi,” Stalin said, adding that the chief minister did not exert pressure on the issue over the Union government.