Bull-taming sport jallikattu, which was banned by the Supreme Court earlier this year, will be back in Tamil Nadu if the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is voted to power in the Assembly elections, party President M Karunanidhi said on Wednesday. "If a DMK government is formed, the Centre will be approached and all legal steps will be expedited and I assure that jallikattu will be held from next year," he said, as reported by PTI.

Karunanidhi was responding to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's allegations that the DMK was betraying people on the matter. The 91-year-old accused AIADMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa of not taking adequate steps to ensure that the sport was played properly, saying it led to the Supreme Court ban. Karunanidhi said that the DMK had not only ensured the proper conduct of the sport in the past, but had also framed a law in 2009 for regulating it.

In January this year, the Supreme Court had stayed the Centre's notification allowing the sport to be played this year. Jallikattu is traditionally played in Tamil Nadu during the pongal festival. It is one of the many animal-related practices that tend to go hand in hand with harvest festivals in many parts of the country.