Jallikattu stir turns violent; Bill passed

Chennai, January 23

Violence broke out today in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu as the police cracked down on protesters even as the six-day-old “Marina uprising” was called off after the state Assembly passed a Bill to replace the ordinance allowing the banned Jallikattu.

The agitations in Madurai, famous for its Alanganallur bull-taming event, Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore and other places were also withdrawn late in the evening.

After the crackdown in the morning, the sands of Marina beach and areas around it in Triplicane, Teynampet and Sellur in Madurai and Gandhipuram in Coimbatore witnessed pitched battles between protesters and the police who fired teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse crowds.

There were incidents of stone-throwing and burning of vehicles and sundry items at various places in protest against the police action. Police personnel and their vehicles along with those of the public were targeted. A number of policemen and members of the public were also injured.

The police suspected some protesters belonged to ultra-Left organisations like CPI-ML and the Revolutionary Youth Front of India as the agitators said the students and youth who had given the call were not involved in the violence.

Initially, crowds defied appeals for withdrawing the agitation, but the protesters were not in a mood to relent.

Acting quickly, the AIADMK government tabled the Bill in the Assembly after the Governor’s address to replace the ordinance for conducting Jallikattu without any hindrance.

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017 piloted by Chief Minister O Panneerselvam was adopted unanimously by a voice vote after a brief debate.

After the ordinance was enacted, pro-Jallikattu organisations and film Director Gautaman appealed to the protesters to withdraw the stir.

Tamil stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan also expressed concern over the violence and called for restraint by the agitating students. The protesters fought pitched battles with the police in several pockets in Chennai, especially around Marina Beach from where thousands were evicted, and blocked roads in various parts of the city. — PTI