Tamil Nadu Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami and AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam on Wednesday, July 28, launched a state-wide protest against the DMK outside their respective residences. The opposition leaders demanded that the DMK fulfill the promises made in their manifesto in the run-up to the state Assembly elections in April. These include introducing a Bill to abolish the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and reduction in fuel prices, among others.
The AIADMK members held placards with slogans such as: ‘What happened to the poll promises?’, ‘What happened to the promise that NEET will be abolished?’ and ‘What happened to Stalin’s promise of vidiyal (sunrise)?’. Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam accused the DMK of making false promises to the public in order to come to power.
After the protest, addressing reporters in front of his home in Salem, Edappadi K Palaniswami said, “Inthe 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK released a manifesto but many of the promises mentioned in the manifesto have not been fulfilled. So, we have called a protest across the state. The DMK has given 505 promises, but they have not even fulfilled the basic ones.”
“MK Stalin said he will pass a bill against NEET in the Assembly but he has not done it, and instead started a commission as an eye-wash. So, we are demanding the revocation of NEET for Tamil Nadu students,” he added.
Palaniswami added that the DMK said they would abolish NEET, but once the Union government announced the dates for the exam, the party told students to start preparations for it. “How can students prepare within a short span. That is why we are asking why they lied despite the Supreme Court ruling (refusing exemption for Tamil Nadu students in writing the NEET),” he questioned.
In Tamil Nadu, students started appearing for NEET in 2017, after the Supreme Court refused to provide exemption for those from Tamil Nadu. The court told medical colleges to provide admissions only based on their NEET scores or common entrance exam results. The court made the decision after Attorney General of India KK Venugopal reversed his decision on the then AIADMK-led state government’s proposal to pass an ordinance for exemption of Tamil Nadu students from NEET. The Attorney General of India said that the special ordinance was "not legally valid".
AIADMK leaders also protested against the DMK for failing to fulfill the promise of reducing prices of petrol by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 4 per litre respectively. The AIADMK members also raised slogans against power shutdowns in the state. “When we were running the government, we ensured a state without a power shutdown. However, now there are complaints of frequent power outages. This should be rectified,” Edappadi Palaniswami said, adding, “The AIADMK will work for the problems of people even if the party is in governance or not.”