Hundreds of students from various colleges took part in a mass demonstration at the AFT Ground here on Wednesday to express their solidarity with the people in Tamil Nadu protesting against the ban on jallikattu.
A group of students from the Tagore Arts and Science College, Pondicherry Engineering College and Ambedkar Government Law College has been camping on the AFT Ground from Tuesday as a show of solidarity with protesters arrested by the police at Alanganallur in Madurai district.
On Wednesday, hundreds of students skipped classes and joined the group shouting slogans against People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which they considered as the organisation behind the move to ban the bull-taming sport. They raised slogans against the police for registering cases against jallikattu supporters in Tamil Nadu. The demonstration was organised in response to the campaign in social media.
“We came to know about the protest through WhatsApp and decided to abandon our classes for the cause. We are organising a protest outside our campus,” said a student of a private medical college at Ousteri near here.
A few students from the Rajiv Gandhi Government Arts College marched to the Legislative Assembly and tried to enter the premises to seek an audience with the Chief Minister. They were persuaded by the police to drop their plan to protest near the Assembly.
Bandh on Friday
A dawn-to-dusk bandh has been called by Tamil outfits on Friday to protest against the ban on jallikattu. Purathchi Vedhan, Co-ordinator of Revolutionary Front, an umbrella organisation of several Tamil outfits, said the bandh had been called to press for early revocation of Supreme Court ban on bull-taming sport.
The Puducherry unit of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has extended support to the bandh.
Protest in Cuddalore
Hundreds of students from various colleges in Cuddalore on Wednesday skipped classes and staged a sit-in protest in front of the old Collectorate complex here to express their solidarity with jallikattu supporters and seeking ban on PETA.
Students from colleges across Cuddalore gathered in front of the old Collectorate complex and raised slogans condemning the Centre and the State governments for their inaction in allowing jallikattu. Those who participated in the campaign carried posters supporting jallikattu and seeking to lift the ban. The protesters demanded the Centre to ban PETA.
In Chidambaram, over 3,000 students studying various disciplines in Annamalai University intensified protests in front of the main entrance of the institution. The protesters refused to end their agitation until the Government came up with an announcement on the issue.
Meanwhile, the university suspended classes of all departments till January 22 and asked the hostel inmates to leave the place. The classes will resume from January 23.
