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On the third day of protests in Tamil Nadu demanding the right to conduct the bull-taming sport of jallikattu, students continued their stir even as more people joined the fray.
Many trade unions and associations in the State, including transport unions and traders, said they will observe a day-long bandh on Friday. Participation from students is on the rise, with many colleges declaring holidays.
There was increased discontent as Chief Minister O Panneerselvam’s talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not yield a positive response — there had been hopes for an ordinance to revoke the ban on jallikattu.
Panneerselvam met Modi today morning. While the PM offered his support to State government initiatives related to the sport, he declined to take any step against the Supreme Court ruling against its conduct. Reports state that the Chief Minister will remain in New Delhi today to discuss the legalities.
In the meantime, several associations in TN are calling for a bandh tomorrow to support jallikattu.
Over one lakh transport workers from trade unions such as CITU and AITUC are joining the bandh. Auto rickshaws, call taxis and vans may not ply.
Tamil Nadu matriculation schools and CBSE schools have declared a holiday. Shops and cinema theatres will also not operate.
The Tamil film industry too has joined the jallikattu protests. Members including stars such as Ajith will participate in a day-long hunger strike tomorrow. But the entry of Kollywood personalities has not gone too well with the protesting students. Twitter handle #SayNoToNadigarSangam has been trending since morning, with Twitterti criticising the stars’ alleged publicity stunts.
Meanwhile, the student numbers continued to swell across the State. Some colleges have declared a holiday till the end of this week and many have shut down their hostels.
Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, resigned his post in protest against the ban.
Global callAmid the frenzy, social media played a major role in taking the protest worldwide. Pictures and reports poured in of of Tamils protesting against the jallikattu ban in cities such as Perth, London and Singapore filled the twitter pages. Twitter handles #jallikattu, #justiceforjallikattu and #SaveOurCultureJALLIKATTU have been trending for three days straight.
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