With sporadic violence emerging in many parts of the city, top stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have appealed for peace and ahimsa. The latter walked the extra mile and talked to the Chief Minister O. Panneer Selvam and made attempts to get in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elucidate about the current state of affairs on Jallikattu.
“This is a mistake. Aggressive police action on students passive resistance will not bear good results. None can take away your rights. Please. stay calm. The highest office in the country is watching & will talk in your favour soon. Maintain calm. A looming question. When the students were calmly waiting to see what decision the assembly takes, Why preempt with police action? Spoke to the Honrbl.CM of TN. The looming question has been asked of him. He will answer soon. They’re eager to satisfy you. Stay calm. Have informed our Honrbl.PM through the best of my connections. The Honrbl. Justice seekers will have to maintain peace,” posted Kamal Haasan on his microblogging page in a series of tweets.
Meanwhile, Superstar Rajinikanth sent out an official statement and said he is deeply saddened by the violence in the city. “At a time when a historic, peaceful protest with unprecedented participation from women, children and students has been lauded by everyone and grabbed the attention of people across the globe, I’m deeply saddened by the current state of affairs. Now that the central and state governments, including eminent lawyers and think tanks have promised to find a solution for the conduct of Jallikattu permanently, it’s our duty to give them the stipulated time and maintain peace and dignity. I sincerely, humbly request you all to give up the protests right now to refrain giving the anti-social elements spoil all the name, fame and goodwill that you and the policemen earned over the past few days,” said Rajinikanth.
Meanwhile, RJ Balaji and Raghava Lawrence too condemned infiltrators who have taken over the protests in various parts of the city and urged students to go home as soon as possible. “Alanganallur people have accepted the victory and announced officially that Jallikattu will happen in a grand manner on February 1st. You too should embrace the decision of the government and give them time,” said Lawrence.
RJ Balaji posted a video message on his Twitter page and expressed vehement disapproval of the violence across many areas in Chennai. “After all the peaceful ways of protests over the past few days, it’s highly disgraceful to see people taking up violent means. I’m not sure who is behind all this. I urge everyone to get back to home. The protest is over now,” he said.