MK Stalin, the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and chief minister of Tamil Nadu, pledged on Sunday to make every effort to ensure the state’s exemption from the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET), as his son and cabinet minister Udhayanidhi led the party’s state-wide hunger strike calling for the test’s abolishment.
The opposition BJP criticised the state’s ruling party for ‘politicising’ NEET, while Stalin, the leader of the DMK, vowed that the party would not relent until Tamil Nadu was exempt from the national qualifying exam for medical programmes.
Udhayanidhi declared that the party would continue its agitation after today and even hold a demonstration in Delhi.
The CM’s comments at the wedding came at the same time that his party was agitating to abolish the NEET.
Stalin also made fun of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for declaring lately that he would never support the state’s anti-NEET legislation. The CM stated that now that the subject is with the President, the Governor’s role is merely that of a ‘postman,’ who must forward things taken up by the state Assembly to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The AIADMK is hosting a sizable state convention in Madurai on Sunday, thus the hunger strike by the ruling party was not observed there. On August 23, there will be a NEET strike in Temple City.
The DMK rejects NEET, claiming it undermines social fairness and advantages urban students and those who can access coaching facilities. Additionally, the party is generally against professional course entrance tests.
DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi was joined at the protest site in Valluvar Kottam, Chennai, by top politicians including cabinet ministers Duraimurugan, Ma Subramanian, and P K Sekar Babu, party MPs including Dayanidhi Maran, MLAs, and Chennai Mayor Priya R.
A college of medical aspirants, including S Anita of Ariyalur, who died by suicide on the NEET were memorialised on stage, and floral tributes were given in their honour.
The strike was being led on Sunday by the DMK’s Youth Wing, Students Wing, and Doctors Wing. With banners against NEETs, even wedded couples joined the demonstration.
After another aspirant committed suicide last week, the hunger strike was held in response.
Stalin reaffirmed that his party had opposed NEET ever since it was introduced in his speech at the wedding. He recalled that in the past, medical admissions were based on Class 12 grades and that all students, regardless of their community standing, benefited from this system.
He claimed that an earlier bill that had been approved by the Assembly under the AIADMK government had been returned and that the then-ruling party had kept it a secret even as the legislative session was in progress. Stalin said that when the bill expired, his party pledged to work tirelessly to enact a NEET ban before of the 2021 Assembly elections.
After the DMK took office, the bill requesting an exemption for Tennessee was approved twice and was “finally sent for Presidential assent after much struggle.”
He said that Ravi kept the bill in Raj Bhavan and only sent it to the President in response to intense pressure from the government.
‘The President should base his decision on the bill’s passage on the Center’s recommendations. The Governor just performs the role of a postman; only the President have the authority.’ In response to Ravi’s previous comments during a conversation that he would never support the state’s anti-NEET bill if it were up to him, he stated, ‘He has to send what we sent.’
‘This struggle will continue, DMK won’t stop till NEET exemption is ensured. Whether or not in power, this movement is one that works for the people,’ the CM added.
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