DMK minister accuses BJP of manipulating Supreme Court decision to implement NEET
India Today
DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister KN Nehru has alleged that the ruling BJP at the Centre manipulated the Supreme Court's 2017 decision that paved the way for the introduction of NEET in the state.
Tamil Nadu minister KN Nehru has alleged that the BJP government at the Centre influenced the Supreme Court decision to implement NEET in the state.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is an all India pre-medical entrance test for students who wish to pursue medical education. The exam replaced Tamil Nadu’s method of admitting students for medical admission based on Class 12 marks after a Supreme Court verdict mandated the same in 2017.
KN Nehru, a leader of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, said at a meeting against NEET and the New Education Policy, “When an argument over NEET came up in Supreme Court before a bench of three judges, two judges said there is no need for NEET while a single judge stated that NEET can be conducted. As two judges stated that NEET is not necessary, the government halted NEET. But the BJP government was behind creating a bench of five judges headed by a judge who was in favour of NEET and was responsible for implementing NEET [in Tamil Nadu].”
Dravidar Kazhagam leader K Veeramani stated that both DK and DMK had fought against the entrance exam brought in by former chief minister MG Ramachandran for 25 years. Finally, ex-CM Karunanidhi implemented a law against entrance exams, he said.
“This [NEET] is against the people, against the legislation, against the rights of the people and against the Constitution”, stated Veeramani. He warned of a major protest if the policy was not halted.
State education minister Anbil Mahesh, who was present at the meeting, blamed the opposition AIADMK for NEET’s introduction in Tamil Nadu. He also claimed that the introduction of NEET was a move to destroy the medical infrastructure in the state.
NEET is a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu, with many medical aspirants allegedly having died by suicide due to stress over the same.
