Minutes after he gave an interview to the media stating that a 'good decision' on jallikattu is likely today, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan has tweeted that the government has made arrangements to allow the famous bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu this year.
Jallikattu has been banned by the Supreme Court in 2014. But with elections in Tamil Nadu scheduled this year, all political parties in Tamil Nadu had exerted pressure on the government to allow the sport to be conducted.
The minister tweeted,
Union Minister @PrakashJavdekar called me now to give the good news that arrangements to conduct #Jallikattu in TN has been made. (1)
— Pon Radhakrishnan (@PonnaarrBJP) January 8, 2016This comes as a major relief and surprise to many as until two days back, it was considered highly unlikely that it would be allowed.
The Animal Welfare Board of India had taken a strong stand against allowing the sport to happen. The top legal officer of the country, the Attorney General had also given a legal opinion in favour of not allowing the sport to happen.
At this stage, it is not however clear as to how the government has chosen to bypass the SC verdict, and the decision is likely to have been taken through an ordinance.
Speaking to The News Minute, TN BJP leader Tamilisai Soundarajan said that the BJP has worked hard to get this decision through and that certain crucial decisions were taken in the past couple of days.
Updates to follow