The DMK government will scrutinise the report on the impact of NEET-based medical admissions, submitted by Justice A.K. Rajan, complete the legal consultations and table a Bill [seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET] in the ongoing Assembly session itself, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Wednesday.
He was responding to concerns raised in the Assembly against the conduct of NEET by DMK legislator Udhayanidhi Stalin, who said people were wondering what had happened to the DMK’s electoral promise against the national entrance exam.
“Our position is that all of us should unite against NEET, overlooking our respective political lines. There is no change in that. We gave the assurance to the people based on that. We assured them of an exemption from NEET, which is our motive. We had promised to take action over it,” the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Udhayanidhi listed out the names of 14 medical aspirants from Tamil Nadu who died by suicide in the recent years, and recalled the DMK’s promise in the poll manifesto to abolish the NEET.
The first-time legislator also urged the State government to name the government medical college being constructed in Ariyalur district after Anitha, a student who ended her life dejected over not being able to enter a medical college due to the NEET mandate. He also wanted the government to withdraw cases against those who had staged protests against NEET.
Recalling his campaign during the Assembly poll when he questioned why the BJP government at the Centre had not established an AIIMS near Madurai, years after announcing it, he said a campaign in Bihar had taken a leaf from it. “In Bihar, they are now showing a brick to ask where the Bihar AIIMS is,” he said.
NEET is a qualifying exam for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate medical programmes in the country, but there has been opposition to conducting it in Tamil Nadu since its introduction. This June, the DMK government announced the formation of a committee headed by Mr. Rajan, retired judge of the Madras High Court, to study whether NEET had affected students on the fringes of society, and to suggest corrective measures.
An attempt by the erstwhile AIADMK government to get Presidential assent for legislation seeking exemption from NEET in Tamil Nadu had failed.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)
