DMK MPs Kanimozhi and Tiruchy Siva met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to present a memorandum with 16 demands from party chief MK Stalin. Several of the demands echoed the resolutions arrived at the recently concluded General Council Meeting of the DMK.
The memorandum stated that the document intended to bring to the Prime Minister's notice a number of crucial issued which required immediate action. This included amendment of the Constitution to restore the rights of states, exemption from National Entrance and Eligibility Test (NEET) for students in Tamil Nadu, 90% reservation for locals in Government Offices, bringing back Education into state list, increasing OBC reservation to 50% and several others.
According to ToI, the meeting with the Prime Minister went smoothly and the entire memorandum was explained to him.
As far as NEET is concerned, the DMK chief has said, "Students of Tamil Nadu have been adversely affected by the introduction of NEET for admission to medical colleges. Furthermore, NEET totally undermines social justice and provides an advantage to those who belong to the urban rich. Recently, the Honourable High Court of Madras has observed that those who attend coaching classes by spending huge amounts of money, clear the NEET and are able to get admission in medical colleges. This finding further confirms our fears that NEET damages the prospects of rural, backward and poor students who aspire to become doctors and health professionals. On this account, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shall be directed to exempt the students from Tamil Nadu with respect to NEET for medical courses."
The DMK, in connection to quota for OBCs in employment and education, has asked that it be increased to 50% besides fully implementing the present 27% reservation without any backlog.
Also, in reference to the visit of Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa to New Delhi, the DMK chief said that Tamils in Sri Lanka are apprehensive of the new regime.
"It is widely reported that Sri Lankan military has been pressed into service in the traditional Tamil areas and signboards in Tamil are being erased. We urge the Government of India should solidly protect the Tamils and their constitutional rights in Sri Lanka so that they live with dignity and self-respect , while they work towards a permanent political solution that they wish for," said the memorandum.
It also asked for the Women's Reservation Bill, granting 33% reservation for women in Assembly and Parliament to be passed without further delay.