Music composer ‘Hiphop Tamizha’ Aadhi, a well-known supporter of jallikattu, on Sunday alleged that some anti-socials, who had mingled with the crowd at different protest venues, were attempting to hijack the ongoing movement for their own gains.
At a joint press meet addressed by prominent jallikattu supporters here late in the evening, Mr. Aadhi said anti-national slogans were being raised at some places. “We are hoping that the youngsters themselves would think about it and end the protest in a good way. This is very important since a few anti-social elements are trying to hijack the protest for their own gains. I am extremely hurt after seeing my name being dragged into various other issues when jallikattu was the sole reason why we started all this,” he said.
The composer claimed at a protest venue in Salem, a few had asked him to raise derogatory slogans against political leaders. He feared that someone else should not appropriate credit for the victory achieved through students’ protest.
Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, managing trustee of the Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation, said: “Other than the initial protests in Alanganallur, we haven’t been directly involved in organising any of the other protests across the State. There were organic, mass movements led by students, and we are appealing to them to (suspend the protest now and) resume the protests if necessary after March, based on the steps taken by the Central Government with respect to our demands (of enacting a legislation).”
Mr. Karthikeya added that that they have asked for the functioning of PETA in the country to be investigated.
Jallikattu Peravai’s Rajashekar said the government must bear the costs of implementing safety measures at venues where bull-taming sport is held in future.
“While we feel that we have emerged victorious, a majority of the protesters are still not sure if a legislation would be enacted to permanently conduct jallikattu. Representatives from various organisations including us met Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in Madurai and discussed about this and are aware of the legal processes involved and the possible future course of action we may have to take,” he explained.
When asked about why jallikattu was not held at Alanganallur, Mr. Karthikeya said that people there had been awaiting a law for a long time and were scared that they might be cheated with an ordinance. “We, however, are confident that all hurdles will be cleared soon and that the event will be conducted,” he said.
