Amid the present uproar over the discovery of irregularities in the NEET-UG exam, the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday, taking a firm stance, announced the passing of a resolution that urged the Centre to exempt the state from admitting its students to medical college via the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow them to take admission based on Plus Two exam marks.
The resolution, backed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin-led DMK, called for the abolition of NEET while urging the Centre to allow Tamil Nadu to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two marks as the qualifying criteria.
"Taking into account the irregularities in several states and opposition to the test, the Centre should appropriately amend the National Medical Commission Act to scrap NEET," the resolution said.
Significantly, though passed by the House, the resolution was put up for discussion amid significant protest. While the opposition BJP held a walkout from the assembly, its ally, the PMK, supported the resolution piloted by the state ruling DMK.
As against Chief Minister Stalin's argument that the test was discriminatory and deprived rural and poor students of the opportunity to access medical education, BJP leader Nainar Nagendran emphasized the various benefits of the NEET exam.
The BJP leader also countered the argument that poor and rural students found it difficult to pursue medical education because of the test. He reminded the assembly about the 7.5 percent reservation for state government school students who passed the test.
"NEET is needed. The Assembly resolution against NEET is unacceptable, and we are staging a walkout," Nagendran said, and he walked out along with the BJP legislators.
Resolution Unanimously Passed
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that the DMK has consistently opposed NEET since it was made mandatory in 2017. The party had earlier launched a massive signature campaign aiming to abolish the test and had also passed two earlier Assembly resolutions adopted by the House seeking presidential assent to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET.
Today, while moving the resolution, Stalin said that apart from making medical education inaccessible to poor and rural students, NEET would affect medical services in rural and backward areas.
Further, the irregularities in the conduct of NEET, scams that surfaced in many states, and grace marks that were awarded and later rescinded, leading the Centre to order an inquiry by the CBI, led to the states opposing the test, he said.
Stalin also referred to letters written by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav to the Centre demanding the scrapping of NEET in the aftermath of irregularities in the conduct of the test.
"The voice of Tamil Nadu has now become the voice of the country," he said.
