Not sure if posted earlier
Tamilnadu Chief Minister Thanks Modi for Allowing Jallikattu -The New Indian Express
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for facilitating jallikattu during the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu. She said that her consistent steps to resume this traditional sport led the Union Environment Ministry to finally issue a notification on this.
“Though bull will continue to be in the list of performing animals, the Central government’s notification dated January 7 has annexed a safeguard clause for preventing any cruelty to the bulls during the conduct of Jallikattu, as per the verdict of the Supreme Court dated May 7, 2014. Following this, there will be no bar on conducting jallikattu. I have directed the Chief Secretary to send a circular to all Collectors in connection with the notification,” the Chief Minister said in a press note.
She also said the her government had filed a review petition on the SC verdict on May 7, 2015 and the petition was still pending before it.
A Few animal activists on a Different Note
Chennai: Well known animal rights activist and founder of the Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh, Gauhar Aziz and her associates welcomed the statement released by the Union Environment Ministry on Friday stating Prime Minister Narendra Modi had understood that this traditional sport is part of the Tamil culture and being the pulse of the Tamil people treat it as a highly sentimental issue. Gauhar Aziz, former member of the National Commission on Cattle, has been working for resumption of Jallikattu for the past few years in association with the Jallikattu organisations and countered many an argument put forth against Jallikattu. She attended several conferences organised on Jallikattu and argued that it is in the interest of the farmers to preserve the tradition.
Asked about the impact of lifting the ban, she said: “the first and foremost impact is that bulls will not be transported to neighbouring states for slaughter.”
petition on change.org against the sport
Chennai: Even as animal rights organisations are up in arms against the lifting of the ban on Jallikattu, an animal lover has started a petition on the world’s largest online campaign platform, Change.Org, urging the government to reinstate the ban on Jallikattu. The Change.Org petition against Jallikattu gained momentum on Friday after the Union Environment Ministry issued notification lifting the ban. On Friday, the number who have signed the petition stood at 6,842. A note on the need for stopping Jallikattu says on the Change.Org site: “This is not a projection of our culture, but a merciless act of humanity. Let us join hands to stand in front of our government, and stand by the Supreme Court’s orders of making Jallikattu illegal.”
peta slams move, says it’s a black day
Chennai: Animal activists from across the city have slammed the Centre’s move to allow jallikattu in Tamil Nadu. “This is a black day for animal rights,” said Chinny Krishna, vice-chairman, Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). The Centre on Friday lifted the ban on jallikattu after altering a 2011 Ministry of Environment notification. “When the apex court upheld the notification in 2014 there was clear evidence of the cruelty and violence involved in the sport, to both the bull and people. The recent move of the Centre nullifies the whole thing,” said Chaitanya Koduri, scientist, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). According to a PETA survey, over 1500 people were injured between 2010 and 2015 while taking part in the sport; 70 of them, including a child, died.
BJP leader dares evks to resign as Cong chief
Sivaganga: With the BJP-led government lifting the ban on Jallikattu imposed by the Supreme Court, the party’s national secretary H Raja has dared the State Congress president EVKS Elangovan to resign his post. Pointing out that Elangovan had earlier questioned whether union minister Pon Radhakrishnan would resign if ban on the sport is not lifted, Raja asked whether he would step down from the presidentship now as the obstacles in conducting Jallikattu have been removed. He came down heavily on the previous UPA government, especially the former union minister Jairam Ramesh, for including bulls in the list of non-performing animals that made way for prohibiting Jallikattu. Denying that the centre has facilitated the resumption of the sport only for vote bank politics, he said the steps taken by the animal welfare activists for getting the sport banned once again was hypocritical and illogical.