Two roadside fortune tellers who purportedly predicted a victory for the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections using a parrot were apprehended for keeping caged birds, as confirmed by officials from the Cuddalore District forest department on Wednesday.
According to the forest department, fortune teller Selvaraj and his brother Srinivasan were detained in Panrutti for the illegal possession of a caged parrot. However, they were subsequently released with a warning.
The incident came to light after a video circulated on the internet, showing the fortune tellers predicting the victory of Thangar Bachan, the PMK candidate for the Cuddalore constituency, in the forthcoming general elections. The video, recorded during a campaign event in Thennampakkam of Cuddalore district, gained traction on social media platforms after being shared by PMK functionaries.
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss criticized the arrest, questioning the reaction of the DMK government to the parrot's prediction, insinuating political motives behind the detention. PMK is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha polls.
Caging birds is deemed illegal under Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), as they are classified as wild animals and are therefore protected under the law.
In the upcoming polls in Tamil Nadu, the BJP is contesting 23 seats alongside nine other partners, including PMK, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), and others. The state, which witnessed a landslide victory for the DMK-led alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is scheduled to vote in the first phase of elections on April 19.
