NEW DELHI/CHENNAI:With Pongal festivities beginning in Tamil Nadu, the Centre on Monday said it would soon deliver a “good news” to the state regarding Jallikattu. The government is likely to make the announcement on January 1 lifting the ban on the bull taming sport in the state.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said a sport like Jallikattu was a cultural practice, which the government respects. “Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu, bullock cart race in Maharashtra, Kambala in Karnataka and bullock races in Punjab have been traditionally and culturally practiced for centuries. We want to respect them, but also ensure that there is no cruelty. “Therefore, we will give you good news in the next couple of days. We will give you good news so that the cultural practice can be followed without cruelty to animals. We have found out some ways and will announce by January 1. The government is positive on the issue,” Javadekar said at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
These events involving animals will be permitted to continue “for sometime”, he said in reply to a question.
The issue had gained traction, after the Supreme Court banned the sport. But political parties were campaigning for allowing it.
Meanwhile, BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan assured that Jallikattu would be conducted, thanks to the efforts of Modi government.
“I spoke to Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar this morning and he had assured me that decks will be cleared for the conduct of Jallikattu within a next few days,” Tamilisai said, at a press conference here.
On the charge of TNCC president E V K S Elangovan that the NDA government had done nothing on Jallikattu for the past 18 months, Tamilisai countered, “What was the UPA regime doing when the DMK and Congress were sharing power at the Centre?”.
Tamers troop into collectorate
Madurai: A group of bull tamers trooped into the Collector’s Office here on Monday and urged the Centre to ensure the conduct of Jallikattu on the eve of Pongal. “Many of us are degree holders and college students. We have been undergoing training in the hope that the government will lift the ban,” a bull tamer said. About two dozen bull tamers from Vadipatti, Alanganallur, K Pudur and Madakulam submitted a petition.