A day after the DMK-led Opposition targeted the Central government over the death of MBBS aspirant Anitha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday came out strongly in favour of NEET even while emphasising that the entrance test was actually introduced in 2010 when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power at the Centre.
Speaking from the same dais at Uzhavar Sandhai ground from where DMK working president M.K. Stalin led a frontal attack on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the AIADMK government in the State on Friday evening, the BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the DMK, which was part of the UPA, was responsible for introducing NEET in the country. “The party did not raise any objection to NEET when it was introduced by the Congress-led UPA government. If the DMK was for the people, it should have stopped the proposal at the beginning itself,” she said speaking at the public meeting held to counter the Opposition campaign against NEET. While Mr. Stalin had announced on Friday that the Opposition parties would stage demonstrations on September 13 against NEET in all district headquarters, Ms. Soundararajan declared that her party cadre would stage demonstrations in support of the entrance test the very next day across the State.
Union Minister of State for Finance, Pon. Radhakrishnan, urged the State government to institute a judicial inquiry into the death of Anitha. Listing out that the number of students admitted under various categories under NEET, Mr. Radhakrishnan refuted allegations that the entrance test has undermined social justice.
