On the day DMK’s MK Stalin was elevated to the post of Working President in the party, his new political rival, AIADMK’s General Secretary VK Sasikala took on the Leader of the Opposition over the jallikattu issue.
Hitting out at the DMK leader for misrepresenting facts and insulting the good work carried out by Jayalalithaa, Sasikala issued a statement saying, “I ask Mr Stalin not to cast a bad name on Amma and not to hide the truth.”
Her statement released by the AIADMK comes a day after Stalin addressed a protest meet at Alanganallur blaming the ruling party for the jallikattu ban. Although the traditional bull taming sport was first banned during the DMK regime, Stalin pointed out that the party had passed a special regulatory legislation in 2009 so that jallikattu would be allowed. He said, “Until the DMK was in power, jallikattu was properly conducted as per the safety guidelines. The issue started only when the AIADMK came to power in 2011.”
Calling his statement “hurtful”, the new AIADMK chief said all efforts taken by Jayalalithaa have been hidden and her arguments presented to the Supreme Court ignored.
“It has been the tradition of the previous generation to keep uttering a lie until it becomes a truth. In this day when all information is available at your fingertips, such untruth cannot be around for a long time,” she said, going on to list the efforts taken by Jayalalithaa in lifting the ban.
Although the Supreme Court banned jallikattu in 2014, Sasikala argued that it was in 2011 during the UPA government’s tenure, when the DMK was part of the coalition, that bulls were included in the list of animals prohibited from being used for public performances.
“It isn’t responsible on part of Opposition Leader Stalin to hide the fact that it was under DMK supported Central government that the bull was added to the banned list of performing animals and it is for this reason jallikattu has been banned,” she observed.