CHENNAI:
Massive protests erupted against the Jallikattu ban continued across Tamil Nadu with thousands of people joining in Madurai, Chennai, Salem and Coimbatore.
The protests that started in Madurai a day after Pongal festival spread to other parts of Tamil Nadu a
fter police arrested over 200 protesters there on Tuesday morning. Over 5,000 protesters vowed to continue their agitation through the night and Wednesday on Marina beach after the talks with state minister D Jayakumar failed on Tuesday night.
Protesters said they will stop the protests only if their demands– lifting the Jallikattu ban, banning PETA (the animal rights organisation that fought against Jallikattu in Supreme Court and won the case) and releasing compensation for all drought hit farmers–are accepted by the Centre.
A group of 50 protesters had gathered on Tuesday morning for a day long protest which later turned into a massive gathering of over 3,000 people by late evening. IT professionals, hundreds of workers, students and families with children are among the crowd that is still camping on Marina waiting for the assurance from CM O Panneerselvam.
As the protests are spreading across the state, the movement without a leader or leadership had succeeded to organise the crowd with the help of multiple social media groups. While leading film personalities including actors Vijay, Simbu, Surya and directors Ameer, Karthik Subbaraj expressed solidarity with protesters through video messages and in person at various protests sites, actor Parthiban was
booed away by the protesters when he visited them and started giving TV interviews.
