Jallikattu will be held in a day or two: Panneerselvam

January 21, 2017 02:43 am | Updated 08:14 am IST - CHENNAI:

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam briefs the media after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Tamilnadu Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam briefs the media after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Tamilnadu Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday.

Hopeful of conducting jallikattu in Tamil Nadu through promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Friday asserted that the bull-taming sport will happen for sure, possibly within a day or two.

“Jallikattu will happen for sure. I’m happy to say that jallikattu bulls will jump out of the vaadivasal (the entry point to the sporting arena), as hoped for by students and youth,” he said at the airport here on his return from Delhi.

Appeal to call off stir

He also appealed to the public, students and activists from various organisations to withdraw their agitation at once. In a quick turn of events on Friday, the Chief Minister, who extended his stay in the national capital, decided to go for the ordinance route. A draft ordinance to amend the Act was sent to the Centre for approval.

‘TN will remove all legal hurdles’

With recommendations from the Union Home, Law and Environment and Forests Ministries, the draft ordinance on jallikattu was expected to reach the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday evening. “The President is out of the country. He will return this evening [Friday]. After obtaining the approval of the President on Saturday, the ordinance would be promulgated by the Governor,” Mr. Panneerselvam said.

Aked whether he would personally inaugurate the event, Mr. Panneerselvam said with a smile, “It would happen as per your wish!” When it was pointed out that it could not be conducted last year, despite assurances, he said, “Anything that we do is based only on hope. I would like to say there is no chance for any obstacle.”

He added, “Whatever be the obstacles, the Tamil Nadu government is determined to remove all of them through legal channels.”

Meanwhile, a delegation of AIADMK MPs led by Deputy Lok Sabha Speaker M. Thambi Durai handed over a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi urging him to intervene in the matter and facilitate the promulgation of an ordinance.

Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, who was in Mumbai on Friday, is scheduled to arrive in Chennai on Saturday evening, after attending an event at Visakhapatnam on Saturday morning.

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