A month after the anti- NEET Bill was passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly for the second time, governor R N Ravi has assured chief minister (CM) M K Stalin that the Bill will be forwarded to the central government for the President’s assent.Stalin met governor R N Ravi at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday.
After the meeting, the CM said that he secured an assurance from Ravi that the anti-NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) Bill will be submitted to the President since it requires his assent to be implemented.
Stalin urged Ravi to respect people’s sentiments and the sanctity of the House.
The relationship between the governor’s office and the ruling DMK government soured after Ravi returned the Bill for the House to reconsider it.The state legislative assembly had passed the Undergraduate Medical Courses, 2021 Bill unanimously, barring the BJP, on September 13 last year. Following this, senior DMK leaders went around to meet other chief ministers seeking their support for the abolition of NEET. A team also met Union home minister Amit Shah over the issue. A Stalin-led delegation had also met the governor last year to press him to forward the Bill.
The matter reached a crescendo when a few DMK leaders demanded Ravi’s resignation over his inaction. Months later, Ravi stunned the state by returning the Bill saying that it presents a “jaundiced view and makes sweeping assumptions.” On February 8, Tamil Nadu’s MLAs once again convened to adopt the anti-NEET Bill for the second time while four BJP MLAs walked out of the assembly.
{{/usCountry}}The matter reached a crescendo when a few DMK leaders demanded Ravi’s resignation over his inaction. Months later, Ravi stunned the state by returning the Bill saying that it presents a “jaundiced view and makes sweeping assumptions.” On February 8, Tamil Nadu’s MLAs once again convened to adopt the anti-NEET Bill for the second time while four BJP MLAs walked out of the assembly.
{{/usCountry}}The Bill seeks to restore the state’s method of admitting students for medical admission based on Class 12 marks before NEET became a reality in Tamil Nadu in 2017 as mandated by a Supreme Court verdict.
Stalin has repeatedly said in his speeches that the fight against NEET “which discriminates against poor and rural students is akin to fighting for social justice which is the cornerstone of the Dravidian movement.”
While meeting the governor, Stalin also presented him with a book, ‘The Dravidian Model’ published in 2021 by A Kalaiyarasan and M Vijayabaskar. The book talks about the development of the political economy of the state under the Dravidian parties and how they ushered in a new era of economic development in the state.
Tweeting from his official page, Stalin wrote: “The governor gave an assurance that he will forward the Bill to the President,” The meeting also came on the day when DMK party organ Murasoli took a jibe at Ravi, to not be scared of the word federalism, in response to his statement that those advocating federalism should understand that India is not a contractual union of states like the USA.
The ruling government and educationists say that the governor has no business returning the Bill or to take any call on it except for forwarding it to the President. “The governor is meant to act on the recommendations of the state cabinet. He has no independent authority,” said a senior DMK leader, pleading anonymity. The State Platform for a Common School System wrote to the governor over the weekend that while students and parents wait anxiously ahead of the admission season, his delay causes more confusion.