Jallikattu: Tamil Nadu gears up for the event as Centre clears ordinance

After a gap of two years, Jallikattu bulls will charge through the famed vadivasal – the passage that leads to the arena.

Tamil people participate in a protest to lift the ban on Jallikattu and impose ban on PETA in New Delhi on Friday. | EPS

CHENNAI: After a gap of two years, Jallikattu bulls will charge through the famed vadivasal – the passage that leads to the arena – with the State government moving swiftly on the ordinance to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act while its administrative machinery is making arrangements to prepare the popular venues like Alanganallur ready to host the event.

“Vadivasal will be opened for Jallikattu through which the bulls will charge,” said chief minister O Panneerselvam at the Chennai airport where he landed after a two-day visit to the national capital. When a scribe asked if he would inaugurate the event, a smiling Panneerselvam paused for a moment and replied, “It all will happen as per your wish.”

The draft is ready, and has been sent to the Union home, environment and forests ministries, from where it will be referred to the office of the President Pranab Mukherjee by evening. Before being promulgated, the ordinance requires the assent of the President, who is away in Kolkata. “As the President is likely to return only by tonight, the ordinance will be promulgated tomorrow or the day after,” said the chief minister, adding that the government will take all legal steps to tackle any hurdle that may crop up.

However, this assurance and his appeal to withdraw the agitations have not calmed the thousands across the State who continued their sit-ins for yet another day. The youth at its most popular protest site Marina Beach in Chennai and the renowned Jallikattu hub Alanganallur in Madurai refused to disperse till the ordinance is actually introduced.

If anything, it only added intensity to the occupy protesters at Alanganallur, where the people now have a large size LED screen deployed to beam the latest developments on the matter.

This is despite Madurai collector Veera Raghava Rao visiting the vadivasal of Alanganallur and assuring the protestors that administration is ready to make all arrangements as soon as it receives the green signal from the government.

It is clear that the protesters are not going to disperse with such assurances but would want to end the successful siege of Tamil mindspace with a celebratory high of watching the Jallikattu. The protest is more significant in terms of its success that forced the many major figures to mutate from a bureaucratic role to a more political role.

The new ordinance will sure come under close legal scrutiny in the coming days, but it would provide a window during which the event could be held before being challenged in the courts. That little breathing space would help the State government relieve the increasing pressure and deal with the matter in a more legally sound manner.

Also, this provides an opportunity to the government to hold the event under tight scrutiny and regulations that would address the court’s concerns about alleged cruelty against the animal, and the safety of those who take part in it.

The ordinance denouement came after hectic discussions between the State and Centre, along with legal representatives from both sides at Delhi since Thursday morning. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Panneerselvam delayed his return to discuss the future course of action.

Section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act of 1960 restricts exhibition and training of performing animals, and after the Centre removed bulls from the list of such animals in 2011, it became illegal to conduct the event under this section. It requires an amendment to the act, but this being a Central government act the move should have the concurrence of the Union government to bring about the amendment.

Realising the upswell in the State was a law and order risk – and also politically toxic after anti-Modi and anti-BJP chants were repeated – the Centre agreed to this, and asked the Attorney General, Mukul Rohatgi to request the Supreme Court to withhold the verdict on the latest round of litigation for a week.

Interestingly, the draft of the verdict is ready but the court had refused to deliver it last week, ahead of the Pongal festival, despite requests from the State, holding that it would not do so under duress.

After the Centre tackled the immediate legal tangle, the State quickly sent the draft ordinance to the Union home ministry. As per the procedure mandated by Constitution, the ministry will now forward it to the President with its recommendation – expected by this evening. Once it receives his assent, the State governor will promulgate the ordinance.

Addressing a press conference at Delhi, Union minister of state for environment, forests and climate change Anil Madhav Dave said the home ministry had already forwarded the draft to MoEF. It would be returned by this evening or by tomorrow after adding the comments from his ministry, Dave said.

“No gap should be left behind and the process should be thorough. We wish to put forth a concrete structure in front of the Jallikattu lovers. We are looking for a permanent solution to the issue. We are focusing on ensuring it,” he said.