The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has acted swiftly on allowing the AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government promulgate an ordinance on Jallikattu, after it received reports from the IB (Intelligence Bureau) that fringe elements might create a law and order problem on the Marina Beach in Chennai where the agitators were camping since Wednesday.
By Saturday evening, everyone heaved a sigh of relief as Tamil Nadu in-charge Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao has signed a Centre-cleared ordinance allowing Jallikattu with some safety measures. Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who returned from Delhi on Friday night, left for Madurai on Saturday evening to flag off the first ever Jallikattu at Alanganalluur on Sunday morning. This is a victory for Jallikattu supporters.
The situation, which appeared to be going out of hand until Friday morning came under total control only after the Centre indicated its green light to the O. Panneerselvam-headed Tamil Nadu government to go ahead with its ordinance allowing people to celebrate Jallikattu at the earliest. Sources in Chennai told The Sunday Guardian that the Centre’s flexible approach has defused tensions in Tamil Nadu.
Slogan raising by protesters against the Supreme Court (SC) and the Central government and the appearance of cutouts of the late LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran and attempts by mobs to damage properties of the Central government offices stunned the Intelligence Bureau which promptly alerted the Centre of the gravity of the situation.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), had played an active role in tackling this unprecedented situation. “CM Panneerselvam has stayed in Delhi for two days only on hints from the PMO,” said a senior official in TN government. The situation turned volatile on Friday as the political parties’ sponsored a bandh, which led to unruly scenes. The arrest of DMK working president M.K. Stalin provided fodder to the fringe elements waiting to trigger violence. In the usual course, it would not have been possible for the Centre to allow a state to promulgate an ordinance on an issue which was before the Supreme Court. But the Centre hasn’t sat on procedural formalities. The PMO ensured that there was quick coordination among different ministries—MHA , Law and Environment and Animal Welfare—and the Attorney General, in securing the removal of all hurdles from the Supreme Court. The SC, too, agreed to put off its verdict on the issue to next week.