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Tamil Nadu governor sent NEET bill for President’s assent: Stalin
The Bill seeks to restore the state’s method of admitting students for medical admissions based on class 12 marks, as was the practice before NEET was mandated in the state in 2017 after a Supreme Court verdict.
Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi has sent the state’s Bill seeking exemption from the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) to the Centre for the President’s consideration, chief minister M K Stalin announced on Wednesday.
The move comes almost 200 days after the Bill was first approved by the state assembly.
“Secretary of the Raj Bhavan contacted me over the phone a few hours ago and informed that the NEET abolition Bill seeking exemption for the state of Tamil Nadu has been forwarded to the Union Home ministry,” Stalin announced to applause in the assembly.
“This is historic and a result of our serious efforts,” he said.
He added that it was the outcome of the state’s incessant efforts cutting across party lines and urged political parties to continue supporting the efforts till the desired result is achieved.
“As a next step, we can directly liaison with the Union home minister, either by sending our MPs or an all-party delegation, and convey our reasons for demanding the exemption,” said DMK spokesperson Constantine Ravindran.
The Bill seeks to restore the state’s method of admitting students for medical admissions based on class 12 marks, as was the practice before NEET was mandated in the state in 2017 after a Supreme Court verdict.
The state legislative assembly had passed the Undergraduate Medical Courses, 2021 Bill on September 13 last year, with support from all political parties aside from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Since then, senior leaders of the DMK met chief ministers of various states seeking their support for the abolition of NEET.
A team had also met Union home minister Amit Shah over the issue.
Last year, a Stalin-led delegation had met Governor Ravi and demanded that he forward the Bill to the Centre. Some DMK leaders later demanded Ravi’s resignation over his alleged “inaction”.
Months after the meeting, the Governor returned the Bill saying it presents a “jaundiced view” and makes “sweeping assumptions”.
On February 8 this year, Tamil Nadu’s MLAs once again convened to adopt the anti-NEET Bill for the second time. This time, four BJP MLAs walked out of the assembly.
The issue the delay in forwarding the Bill has created quite a lot of friction between the state government and the Governor. On April 14, the state government and its allies boycotted the Governor’s ‘At Home Reception’ coinciding with Tamil New Year’s day. DMK’s allies also held a demonstration where they raised black flags in protest against Governor Ravi.
