Rajahmundry: Politicos get ready for cockfights

RAJAHMUNDRY: With elections round the corner, it is a prestige issue for political leaders from all major political parties including TD, YSR Congress, Jana Sena, BJP, Congress and others to conduct cockfights in a big way to lure the voters to their side especially during the three days of Sankranti festival, mainly in West and East Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts in the State.

Political leaders have already started making arrangements for conducting cockfights in a grand manner and are inviting celebrities from the tinsel world and also top personalities from trade and business as well as political leaders from other states to enjoy the fun during the cockfights.

Incidentally, political leaders feel the pressure of conducting cockfights even if they are really not interested in doing so, for the simple reason that the voters give ratings to the political leaders based on their ability to conduct the cockfights in a grand manner, and this includes their ability to overcome any obstacles that are thrown their way to stop the cockfights.

As far as cockfights are concerned, political leaders are on pins and needles, as their inability to conduct cockfights or facilitate them, may label them as “useless” by the voters. As the State is going for elections for both Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha, the political leaders are very particular about reaching out to the voters to lure them in their favour by conducting the cockfights and taking credit for them.

Meanwhile, it is not going to be an easy task to conduct cockfights as both the Supreme Court and the erstwhile Hyderabad High Court have made it amply clear that conduct of cockfights with or without knives and gambling is against the law as they attract several provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and also AP Gaming Act, 1974.

However, the political leaders are taking up a misinformation campaign by misinterpreting the directions from the courts. They are informing the people that the courts have permitted the conduct of cockfights in a traditional manner and so, they are going to organise them accordingly. But in reality, a cockfight without knives and gambling is highly impossible as without them, nobody finds any interest in participating or betting or even being a silent spectator.

The political leaders are now making all necessary arrangements for conducting cockfights by erecting huge pandals at the outskirts of select villages. Some fights will be organised under floodlights at night. Soliciting,