The mass Jallikattu protests on Chennai's Marina beach showed no sign of dying out on Friday, even after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam promised that a draft ordinance aimed at ensuring the conduct of the traditional bull-taming sport has been submitted to the home ministry.
Chief Minister M K Stalin inspected several inundated areas here along with top officials including Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and directed authorities to take swift action to drain flood water.
Claims over leadership became the focal point at the former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa's death anniversary event held in Chennai on Sunday with the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, led by O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami, asserting that it is a 'fortress' that cannot be shaken by anyone.
Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam announced on Friday morning that the state government will amend a central act on Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to allow the conduct of Jallikattu in the state with the Centre's backing, and urged protestors across the state to withdraw their agitation following the likelihood of the bull-taming sport to be held in a "day or two."
Jayalalithaa's nephew Deepak Jayakumar claimed that the late AIADMK chief had left behind her properties to him and his sister.
'The BJP is so keen to use this opportunity to make its foray in a state where it hardly exists, says Amulya Ganguli, that it has silenced the vociferous animal rights activist in its ranks -- Maneka Gandhi.'
Protesters demanded a permanent solution for holding the sport and raised slogans that an ordinance was only a temporary measure.
'We see different people bringing different resentments and we feel this is the result of the deprivation of an identity because of the reintroduction of Hindi, the Hindutva overtones in the national discourse, the betrayal of the Dravidian parties and even small things like the Devanagiri script in the Rs 2,000 note.'
Protests demanding Jallikattu swelled on the streets of Tamil Nadu after agitators rejected statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and the state braced for a shutdown on Friday.
State government announced ex gratia for kin of those who lost lives.
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