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Two roadside fortune tellers who predicted a win for the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate's victory in the April 19 Lok Sabha elections with the help of their parrot were arrested for keeping caged birds, Cuddalore District forest department officials said on Wednesday.The Cuddalore District Forest Police took action after a video surfaced on the internet in which the roadside fortune teller and his brother, predicted the victory of Thangar Bachan, the candidate of Cuddalore constituency, in the upcoming general elections
"Fortune teller Selvaraj and his brother Srinivasan were detained in Panrutti for caging a parrot. The duo were later released with a warning," Cuddalore District forest officials said. Earlier on Sunday during a campaign in Thennampakkam of Cuddalore district, Bachan requested Selvaraj to predict his future following which Selvaraj used one of their four parrots to predict a win for Bachan. The video which was shot by PMK functionaries later went viral on social media platforms. Condemning the arrest, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said in a post on X, "How can the DMK government, which cannot bear the fact that the parrot soothsayer said Thangar Bachan will win, bear the result of the election?" The PMK is in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha polls. According to Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), caging birds is illegal as they are categorised under wild animals and are thus protected under the Act. The BJP, which is contesting 23 seats, will go into the polls in Tamil Nadu with nine other partners including the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which will contest on 10 seats, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) is contesting on three seats. Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK leader O Pannerselvam is contesting as an Independent; Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMU), headed by TTV Dhinakaran is fighting on two seats, and the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, Puthiya Needhi Katchi and Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam will contest the polls on one seat each under BJP's banner. In 2019, the DMK-led alliance swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, winning 38 of the 39 seats. The state will go to polls in the first phase of elections, on April 19. (ANI)
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