Chennai, Feb 4: Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O.Panneerselvam on Friday came down heavily on the DMK government for not taking action on the cancellation of medical entrance exams.
Citing Governor R.N. Ravi returning the Bill passed by the state Assembly, Panneerselvam said it was a matter of concern that the Bill was passed on September 13, 2021 and it has not gone out of Tamil Nadu for President’s assent all these months.
Panneerselvam said the DMK’s government’s sluggish attitude is the reason for the Bill not going out of Tamil Nadu.
The DMK party, which had earlier said that it would cancel the NEET exam when it comes to power, delayed the process by four months by setting up a committee and then bringing the Bill in the Assembly.
“Had only the DMK withdrawn its support to the then Congress government at the Centre in 2010 when NEET was introduced, the entrance exam would not have been there at all,” Panneerselvam added.
MMK leader M. H. Jawahirullah said Governor Ravi has hurt the feelings of Tamil Nadu people and should be recalled by the Central government.
He condemned Ravi’s action of returning the Bill for reconsideration instead of forwarding the same to the President for assent.
Meanwhile Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has called a meeting of all parties having representatives in the Assembly on Saturday to discuss the next course of action.
Governor Ravi had returned the Bill seeking exemption from NEET for the state to the Speaker for reconsideration of the Assembly on February 1, 2022.
The matter came into the open after the Raj Bhavan issued a statement to this effect on February 3, 2022.
A statement issued by the Raj Bhavan on Thursday said the Governor was of the opinion that the Bill is against the interests of the students, especially the rural and economically poor students of the state.
“Hence, the Hon’ble Governor has returned the Bill to the Hon’ble Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on February 01, 2022, giving detailed reasons, for its reconsideration by the House,” the Raj Bhavan said.
According to the statement, the Governor came to the conclusion after a detailed study of the Bill for admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses seeking exemption from NEET, and the report of the committee constituted by the state government in this regard.
The committee’s report was the basis of the Bill. Governor Ravi had also examined the pre-NEET status of social justice in medical admissions, especially for the students coming from socially and economically poor backgrounds while arriving at his conclusion.
The Supreme Court in the Christian Medical College, Vellore Association Vs. Union of India (2020) case also comprehensively examined the issue, especially from the social justice perspective and upheld NEET as it prevents economic exploitation of poor students and is in furtherance of social justice, the statement said. (IANS)