NEET date announcement a blow to TN students who believed in Stalin’s promise: EPS

CHENNAI: Leader of the opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday said the Union government’s announcement that National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medicine and dental courses would be held on September 12 was a blow to students in Tamil Nadu who were unprepared for the examinations believing in the promise of chief minister M K Stalin and his ministers that the competitive test would be abolished.
Palaniswami hit out at the chief minister’s remark that the Madras high court’s dismissal of a petition filed by a BJP functionary challenging the constitution of the Justice A K Rajan committee for studying the impact of NEET on students was a blow to the dual standard of the BJP and its subservient ally, the AIADMK.
“Stalin, who claimed that he would abolish NEET in 24 hours of coming to power and know the way to do it, is now lashing at us to hide his inability. He has issued a statement without any political decency and unaware of his position as the chief minister,” Palaniswami alleged. He sought to remind that the DMK government in its affidavit in the court had not stated that NEET would be abolished based on committee’s recommendations.
The notification of NEET came in 2010 during the Congress-led UPA regime, in which the DMK was a constituent. The AIADMK regime got the exemption until the Supreme Court upheld NEET in 2016. The government passed a unanimous resolution in the assembly, seeking exemption for the state but the Centre did not give consent. The Madras high court quashed a government order that reserved 85% of MBBS/BDS seats to state board students. The state even filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court, but the allies of the present chief minister got a pro-NEET verdict, the former CM charged.
Only six government school students got admission in medical courses in 2019. “I made sure that such a situation should change. Even when opposition leader Stalin or public had not represented, I set up retired judge Kalaiarasan-led committee and accepted the recommendations and enacted a law to provide 7.5% quota and realized the dreams of students,” Palaniswami said, recalling the admission of 435 government school students in medical and dental courses last year.
The AIADMK government had issued an order taking over educational fees of students and provided special coaching to medical aspirants by experts.