PMK to hold Jallikattu if Centre doesn't promulgate ordinance: Ramadoss

Amid massive protests in Tamil Nadu in support of Jallikattu, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday said his party will hold the bull-taming sport on January 26 if the Centre did not promulgate an ordinance on it in two days.

The event will be held in all districts of the state and the youth should participate in it in large numbers, the former Union Minister said in a statement issued here.

The PMK's move to hold Jallikattu on the Republic Day would be in defiance of a Supreme Court order banning the sport.

Ramadoss said members of the student and youth wings of the PMK are participating in the ongoing statewide Jallikattu protests.

Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to promulgate the ordinance to enable the holding of the popular sport. Modi assured him of support but pointed out that the matter is sub judice.

Massive protests continued on Thursday in Tamil Nadu in support of Jallikattu, the ancient and popular bull-taming sport.

At the Marina beach in state capital Chennai, protesters sat through Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, they helped clean up the area that is a litter-free zone.

On Wednesday, thousands of young men and women demanded not only an end to the ban on Jallikattu but also a ban on People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, which opposes the sport.

The Supreme Court banned Jallikattu in May 2014, saying bulls cannot be used as performing animals, including for bullock-cart races.

--IANS

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