In an effort to end the protests that have paralysed Tamil Nadu for the last five days, the Centre on Friday night cleared an Ordinance on Jallikattu, paving the way for the state government to promulgate it to allow the conduct of controversial bull-taming sport.
According to reports, the proposal of the Tamil Nadu government was cleared by the Ministries of Home, Law and Environment without recommending any changes. In the state government’s draft Ordinance, bulls will be denotified from the list of ‘performing animals’ in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The move comes a day after CM Panneerselvan met on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
This will ensure that provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act will not apply to the bull. The Ordinance has been forwarded to the state government, a Home Ministry spokesman said.
According to PTI, the Ordinance has been sent without the need of referring it to the President of India, the spokesman added.
Tamil Nadu Cabinet is expected to meet today to clear the Ordinance and recommend it to the Governor Vidyasagar Rao for promulgation.
Rao, who is also Governor of Maharashtra, is reaching Chennai on Saturday morning.
On Friday, Madurai district collector K Veera Raghava Rao inspected the Alanganallur Jallikattu site, in what is seen as prep work to hold the event. CM Panneerselvam said that he will personally inaugurate the event.
"Jallikattu will happen in the state for sure. I am happy to state that the ‘vaadivasal’ (the gateway to the jallikattu venue) will let the roaring bulls run in line with the aspirations of students and youths," he told reporters at Chennai airport.
Meanwhile, the opposition DMK held protests on rail tracks in Tamil Nadu and its Working President MK Stalin was detained by police for some time.
In some districts schools were also closed while shops downed their shutters across the state in support of Jallikattu.
The Supreme Court in May 2014 banned Jallikattu, saying that bulls cannot be used as performing animals including bullock-cart races. Since then, people have been urging the central government to take steps to allow the sport. The common complaint among the protest leaders was that the Supreme Court had insulted Tamil culture by disallowing the traditional sport observed during the harvest festival of Pongal.
On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed not to pronounce its verdict on Jallikattu for one week in the wake of large scale protests in Tamil Nadu. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra agreed to put the pronouncement on hold on a plea by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who told the court that ‘cultural passions’ were running high in the state.
The apex court had in 2016 reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions by animal rights activist and organisations challenging a January 7, 2016, government notification taking out bulls from the list of animals that cannot be exhibited or used for fights or races. The notification was then stayed by the top court a week after its issuance.
The court was informed that both the Centre and Tamil Nadu were in touch and some measures were being taken to tackle the situation that surfaced in light of the harvest festival of Pongal in which the ancient animal sport has special significance.
In Jallikattu, a bull vaulter is expected to hang on to the animal's hump for a stipulated distance or hold on to the hump for a minimum of three jumps made by the bull. The sport is traditionally held as part of the four-day Pongal festival in the state.
