MK Stalin tells Centre, state govt to lift Jallikattu ban; threatens to protest
Chennai: DMK Treasurer MK Stalin on Thursday urged the Centre and state government to remove the ban on 'Jallikattu' and warned that he would lead a protest unless they took steps to enable the bull-taming sport to be held during the Pongal festive season in January.
"If the Centre and state don't take steps for removing the ban and hold jallikattu during the coming Pongal festival, I myself will lead a struggle against this after seeking approval from (DMK President) Kalaignar (Karunanidhi)," he said in a Facebook post. The DMK government had enacted a legislation in 2009 to ensure the continuance of the bull-taming sport after introducing due regulations.
Supreme Court had last year banned jallikattu, bull races, bull-fights and other uses of bulls in performances, but there have been widespread demands in the state, especially in the southern districts, that Centre make adequate amendments to ensure that the sport is introduced again in 2016.
Supporters of 'jallikattu,' organised to coincide with the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal, have been defending it on the grounds that it is a sport of bravery and is reflective of the local tradition.
Recently, scores of celebrities, including actress Vidya Balan and India Test captain Virat Kohli, had signed a petition by an animal rights advocacy group seeking upholding of the ban on 'jallikattu'.
Vijila Sathyananth (AIAMDK) demanded lifting of the ban on Jallikattu saying the popular bull fight should be allowed with adequate safeguards in place. She said Jallikattu was common among ancient tribes and a 1,500 year old painting found near Madurai depicts the bull- fight.
The Madurai High Court had on September 3, 2007 stated that total ban on Jallikattu was wrong and it can be conducted in a regulated manner, she said, adding the Supreme Court had stayed the order on a petition filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India. The apex court on May 8, 2014 banned 'jallikattu' (bull fighting) and bullock cart racing in Tamil Nadu. It had also banned bullock cart racing in Maharashtra.
Sathyananth demanded that the government allow regulated bull fighting. Tiruchi Siva (DMK) joined Sathyanath to demand that bull fighting should be legalised. Rajani Patel (Cong) raised the issue of a Shani temple in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, which was reportedly cleansed ceremonially after a woman had entered.
She said the platform where the woman had entered was found to have been used by security guards for drinking and asked if it was okay if the guards drank there, but women cannot enter the temple.
Similarly, it is reported that the Sabrimala temple in Kerala was installing machines to detect women going through menstrual periods, Patel said. "This is not correct," she said condemning both the incidents. She also said that some women had petititoned against being disallowed in the Haji Ali dargarh in Mumbai.
