Don’t call me ‘Jallikattu Nayagan’: O Panneerselvam

Speaking at the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam urged AIADMK leaders and cadres not to address him as “Jallikattu Nayagan (Jallikattu Hero)”. The top party leader also, in a humorous note, wondered, “Calling me Jallikattu Nayagan, what will happen if people ask me to tame a bull when I would be watching Jallikattu?”

People along with students had staged a massive protest in January 2017 against PETA and the ban on Jallikattu. O Panneerselvam headed the government as Chief Minister then. An ordinance was promulgated in the state and the Centre’s approval was obtained to allow Jallikattu in the state on the occasion of Pongal festivals.