he Supreme Court’s stay on the Centre’s order allowing the conduct of jallikattu has come as a blow to the State unit of the BJP, which thought it had scored some brownie points over its rival, the Congress.
Even though the BJP faces an embarrassing situation, its political rivals are unlikely to resort to any harsh criticism of its action for fear of antagonising public sentiment.
BJP leaders in the State have succeeded in giving the impression that unlike the Congress-led UPA, the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was more sensitive to issues concerning Tamil Nadu.
‘No cruelty to animals’
RSS State coordinator N. Sadagopan agreed the court order had certainly caused embarrassment to the BJP but said there was no political motive in issuing the notification in an election year. “We have been working for the last one year and sending inputs to Delhi in support of jallikattu. No cruelty is caused to the animal in the sport. On the contrary, men are subjected to injury,” he said, rejecting the charge that the notification was issued by the BJP with an eye on political gains.
Govt. responsible: PMK
PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the State government and the Centre would be held responsible for raising hope in the minds of people and immediately depriving them of the excitement.
Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, who imposed the ban on jallikattu in July 2011 by including the bull in the list of “non-performing” animals, welcomed the Supreme Court’s order but made it clear that it was not necessarily the Congress party’s view.
“The Government notification was a blatant violation of the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered in 2014,” he told The Hindu when asked whether the BJP government had issued the notification despite being aware of legal consequences. He alleged the notification was issued to draw political mileage in a few districts in southern Tamil Nadu. The safeguards they announced were purely theoretical and would not work on the ground.
Former Madras High Court judge Justice K. Chandru felt the Modi government was intent on reaping political gains. “On the day the notification was issued, I said that it would not stand the Supreme Court’s scrutiny even for five minutes, because the court had gone into the issue in a detailed manner before delivering its earlier judgment,” he said.
Mr. Chandru alleged that the development showed that the BJP had no regard for the law and was willing to disregard the opinion of the highest judicial officer of the country, the Attorney General.
“Amending the schedule [to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act] to exempt the bull was a childish way of issuing an executive order,” he said.
‘Govt notification
was a blatant violation of the judgment of the SC delivered in 2014’
