Musician Adhi cites 'anti-national' twist, withdraws from stir

A Tamil musician associated with the raging pro-jallikattu protests today announced backing out of the agitation citing the presence of "anti-national" elements, but vowed to back the bull-taming sport.
Known as 'Hip-Hop Tamizha', Adhi, who has composed a Tamil track in support of jallikattu, claimed that the movement was "losing steam and veering off its desired path".
He claimed that during the protests at Coimbatore, he had come across an incident involving an "insult" to the national flag even as some tried to give a communal colour to it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the target of "abusive" language by a section of the protesters, Adhi, a prominent name among the pro-jallikattu protesters, alleged.

"I will not aid such anti-India activities," the composer of the 'Takaru Takaru' song said in a video message, adding that some protesters even raised separate Tamil Nadu slogans.
Adhi said he was "hurt" by such incidents and insisted that a good initiative was "losing direction".

"The problems of Tamils should be addressed, but at the cost of what?" he asked and added that giving a completely different colour to the protest was "not acceptable" to him.
"I do not know what happened but I am backing off," he said.
Adhi said he himself was the owner of a bull and had been affected by the ban on jallikattu, adding that he continued to support the bull-taming sport.

His comments come at a time when some on the social media have started questioning the rationale behind the protesters' insistence on continuing with their agitation (in its sixth day today) despite Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's assurance that his government's ordinance for conducting the sport will pave the way for a permanent solution.
(REOPENS MDS 23)
Echoing Adhi's comments, the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP said it had already made it clear that the movement was losing direction.
"Insult to the national flag and Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly shows that the movement is veering off its path. We should not allow these things to happen," BJP state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan said.

In a statement here, she recalled that the ban on jallikattu had come into effect during the days of the UPA government of which the DMK was a key constituent and also referred to the efforts of the Centre and the state government to lift the ban.
(REOPENS MDS23)
Later, a group of pro-Jallikattu activists including Adhi, told reporters here that the protesters can consider withdrawing their stir or at least postpone it till March end if no permanent solution was found.
Adhi, Jallikattu forum's founder Rajasekar and another well-known supporter Karthikeya Sivasenathipathi said the students had succeeded in their endeavour as the state had issued an ordinance.

They also pointed out that the state government is scheduled to table a bill in the Assembly tomorrow to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act.