Actor Rajinikanth on Monday urged jallikattu supporters to end their protests and respect the authorities. In a letter addressed to the protestors, he appealed for peace and said undesirable elements were trying to bring a bad name to the campaign and the students should not allow that.
Vehicles were set on fire at Ice House Police Station near the beach on Monday morning amid resistance from protestors. More than 100 protesting students were detained near Meenakshi Hall in Coimbatore. In Alanganallur, police resorted to baton-charging after villagers started pelting stones. Police reportedly used force to disperse the agitators, but a state minister denied it.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy welcomed the police action at Chennai’s Marina Beach and said that since the protestors’ demands had been met with, they should stop the violence. “After all their demand was to be conceded and Jallikattu is going to be legitimised by an act that is to be passed today by the Tamil Nadu Assembly and so what is the point in protesting?,” Swamy told ANI.
Actor Kamal Haasan, who has been vocal in his support for jallikattu, on Sunday had challenged the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to ban bull-riding rodeos in the United States instead of trying to stop the bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu. “PETA go ban bull-riding rodeos in Mr Trump’s US. You are not qualified to tackle our bulls,” he had tweeted.
Haasan also praised the students’ agitation across Tamil Nadu and said people were now “getting a taste of true democracy”. He urged the protestors to remain calm, adding that aggressive police action on students’ passive resistance “will not bear good results”.
On Sunday, two peopled died and more than 83 people were injured during jallikattu organised in Pudukottai. A protestor also died in Madurai while fasting in support of the sport. Protestors on Sunday morning stopped Chief Minister O Panneerselvam from inaugurating the sport in Alanganallur, as they demanded a long-term solution to the Supreme Court ban.
On January 21, the jallikattu ordinance was cleared by Tamil Nadu Governor Vidya Sagar Rao. Earlier, it was approved by the Centre and the president.
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