“It was quite a lovely experience to see Tamil culture, history in action. I thank the Tamil people. I’ll be coming back here,” Mr Gandhi said after the event.
At an event of Jallikattu, Tamil Nadu’s traditional bull-taming sport, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi celebrated Pongal in poll-bound Tamil Nadu today. With a call to Tamil sentiments, the Gandhi scion said: “I have come here to give a message to those who think that they can run roughshod over Tamil people, can push aside Tamil language and Tamil culture.”
“I have come here as I think Tamil culture and history are essential for India’s future and need to be respected,” said Mr Gandhi at an event in Madurai. Mr Gandhi was accompanied by ally DMK’s chief MK Stalin, NDTV reported.
Formed ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-DMK alliance had managed to win 31 of the state’s 38 Lok Sabha seats.
“It was quite a lovely experience to see Tamil culture, history in action. I thank the Tamil people. I’ll be coming back here, not once but numerous times,” Rahul Gandhi said, in presence of senior party leaders KC Venugopal, state Congress chief KS Alagiri and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayansamy.
“It was quite a lovely experience to see Tamil culture, history in action. I’m happy that Jallikattu is being organised in a systematic and safe way that both the bull and the youngsters are safe and everybody is being taken care of,” Mr Gandhi said.
The Supreme Court had banned the sport in 2014 owing to cruelty to animals. However, following massive protests, the state government restored it three years later with an amendment in the law.
The Jallikattu issue had further widened the north-south divide, with the state’s residents contending that those opposing Jallikattu did not understand the Tamil language and culture. The divide has only deepened over the past few years over the Hindi imposition.
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