Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Tuesday described as a blow to the “double standards of the BJP” and its “sidekick AIADMK” the Madras High Court order rejecting a PIL petition filed by BJP State secretary K. Nagarajan against the Justice A.K. Rajan committee, which was constituted to study the impact of NEET on medical admissions.
In a statement, Mr. Stalin said the petition exposed the double standards of the BJP, as the party’s leader in the Assembly, Nainar Nagendran, had said it would be welcome if NEET was dispensed with through legal means.
“The petition was filed against the interests of Tamil Nadu students to gain political mileage and satisfy someone,” he added.
Noting that the committee was constituted to study NEET’s impact on the educational, social and economic conditions of the students, the Chief Minister said it had received the views of over 86,000 people so far. “The government will take the next course of action after receiving a report from the committee,” he said.
Recalling the ruling of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy that the mere constitution of a committee cannot be considered an act of defiance against any order passed by the Supreme Court in favour of NEET and that it did not pose even the remotest challenge to the constitutional right of the Centre to fix standards for higher education, Mr. Stalin said it was an important judgment in the DMK’s fight against NEET.
“It is a beginning in the State government’s efforts to fulfil the dreams of students who want to study medicine,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said the order upheld the rights of not only the students but also the State. “It is a first victory, and it has given hope to the State government that it will be a complete victory,” he said.
The Chief Minister said legal action would follow after the State government receives the report of Justice A.K. Rajan. “Since the date for NEET has been announced, the State government’s efforts cannot be completed. It is regrettable that students are under compulsion to write the examination when the State government is taking legal steps. But it will create a situation that will put an end to NEET,” he said.