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BJP hoodwinking Tamil Nadu on jallikattu: DMK
The DMK took a dig at the BJP on the jallikattu issue and blamed the party for betraying the people of Tamil Nadu.
By
migrator
migrator
Madurai
Senior DMK leader Sedapatti Muthiah was referring to the interview of Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu to a TV channel in which the Minister said that the Centre has not assured anyone of the conduct of jallikattu this year.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of DMK cadre at Alanganallur on Friday, Muthiah said that Venkaiah Naidu’s interview had created ripples among the jal likattu enthusiasts and politicians here as another Union Minister Pon Radhakrishan had been claiming that the Centre was taking all initiatives to conduct jallikattu, he said. The BJP leaders have betrayed the people of the state on this issue, the senior DMK leader charged. Muthiah added “Whenever, Radhakrishnan came to Tamil Nadu, he had been assuring the people of the conduct of jallikattu during the coming Pongal. Even DMK chief M Karunanidhi had been taken for a ride by him as the veteran leader dropped a protest called for conduct of jallikattu on the assurance given by the Union Minister from the state.”
“Similar was the case of BJP’s state president Tamilisai and another Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. All assured that the BJP would ensure the conduct of jallikat tu. But in the end Venkaiah’s interview has proved all the other BJP leaders wrong on the jallikattu issue,” Muthiah said. “They had betrayed the people he reiterated. M a d u r a i East MLA Moorthy said that jallikattu is a tradition here and not a mere animal sport. The DMK had decided to organise a large scale protest here for the conduct of the event, he added. In the preparation meeting at Alanganallur, in which large number of cadre participated, the party announced that the protest would be led by DMK Treasurer MK Stalin. The MLA urged the party cadre to participate in the protest and make it a grand success.
After stir, Alanganallur takes prayer route
Tired of petitioning the state, Union government and various politicians for the conduct of jallikattu, people in Alanganallur on Friday started praying to the Almighty for securing a permission for the event.
“Jallikattu has been conducted continuously for many years, but it has been banned for the last two years. We petitioned several officials, politicians and et al. We failed to get a positive reply. So we have turned our attention towards God,” said an organising committee member. They met the media on the side lines of the rituals they arranged for the same. “For the first time a special homam was conducted here and through this we have submitted our demand for the conduct of jallikattu to God. Wish the Almighty help us to conduct jallikattu this year,” hoped Ranjith, a villager.
The homam was conducted in front of the vadivasal said the organising committee members. The rituals started with the worship of a cow and calf with special prayers. The Maha Ganapathi homam and Maha Rudhra Yagam were held which went on for more than three hours in front of the vadi vasal at Alanganallur. All the village deities of Alanganallur such as Alangara Vinayagar, Kaliamman, Muthalamman, Muniyandi Swamy, Ayyanar Karuppanasamy and others were invoked in the ritual.
Almost the entire village participated in the ritual and prayed for the conduct of jallikattu. The people then went to Muniyandi Swamy Temple and offered special prayers there too. The DMK cadre joined the villagers in the pooja at the temple and offered their prayers for the conduct of jallikattu. The women of the village participated in a mega ‘Vilaku pooja’ in the evening. Nearly 100 lamps were placed at the vadivasal and special prayers were offered by them for jallikattu.
No dual stand, says BJP national secretary Rao
Responding to the allegation of dual stand of the party on the traditional game of jallikattu, BJP’s National Secretary Muralidhar Rao said “BJP’s stand on jallikattu is very clear. There is no confusion. We support the traditional sport.”
Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, the national secretary of BJP said “It (jallikat tu) is not anti-animal. There is no cruelty in the game. If there is any distortion or wrong practice they can be excluded and monitored. It cannot become a bad game because of such practices. Then any game will be bad. In case of such violations the violators should be punished.”
When pointed about Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu’s remark in an interview to a TV channel, Muralidhar Rao said that the government at the Centre has already expressed its readiness to accept jallikattu. “The problem is in the Supreme Court,” he said and added that we have to wait and watch how the Union government has been able to handle it in the court. BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan in a separate interaction with the media said that animal right activists were attacking the Union government for its efforts to revive the sport.
“We tried our best to get relief (from the ban) by conducting the game last year. BJP is working on a legal approach, which is needed for a permanent solution to save the sport from being banned,” she said. She added that efforts are on to conduct the game this year itself.
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