The DMK on Monday slammed the Centre for rejecting two resolutions passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly seeking exemption to the state’s students from writing the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET). DMK members walked out of the Lok Sabha when the government did not respond.
DMK's TR Baalu raised the issue during Zero Hour, saying the Bills were adopted by the state Assembly but were rejected by the central government after 27 months.
"Are we ruled by the Centre? The Centre did not consider the value of the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly," Baalu said amid uproar in the House over the political crisis in Karnataka. Amid the din, Baalu demanded a response from the government. When the government did not respond, the DMK members trooped out of the House.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam said that the Assembly cannot pass a resolution condemning the Centre’s rejection of Tamil Nadu’s NEET-related bills.
He was responding to Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin’s demand to pass a resolution on Monday. He stated that the state government is considering getting legal opinions about filing a review petition related to the issue in the Supreme Court.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been a contentious issue in Tamil Nadu since its introduction, and both major political parties in the state had vowed to get an exemption for the state from NEET in their election manifesto in the run-up to the general elections. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed the resolutions in 2017 seeking to admit students to MBBS and dental courses in Tamil Nadu based on their class 12 marks. While the then Union Minister for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman promised that the Centre would cooperate if the state government brings an ordinance seeking exemption from NEET for a year, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal made it clear that NEET is here to stay and added that he would convince the AIADMK to that effect.
With IANS inputs