Chennai : Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Monday tabled a bill in the assembly, seeking a permanent exemption from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), for the state as the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a walkout. “Today, I have presented the resolution against NEET. You (AIADMK) also brought this resolution. I urge opposition parties to extend their support to this resolution,” Stalin said in the assembly as he moved the bill, according to news agency ANI.
Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that students and their parents were totally confused whether the NEET exam will be held in Tamil Nadu, adding that they were not given the opportunity to discuss a medical aspirant’s death in the assembly. “There is no clear stand taken by the DMK government on NEET,” Palaniswami said, according to news agency ANI as he held the government responsible for the 19-year-old student’s death. “Students didn’t prepare well for the exam as DMK-government said that NEET will be scrapped. We have decided to walk out in protest. We will support NEET resolution,” the former Tamil Nadu CM said.
Also read | Tamil Nadu student’s suicide ahead of NEET sparks political row
The medical aspirant was found dead on Sunday at his home in Salem hours before he was to appear for the NEET exam for the third time. The Tamil Nadu government recently said in a policy note that an official committee suggested the enactment of a fresh law to provide for admission to professional degrees like medicine on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying exam and to get exemption from NEET. Bills adopted in 2017 during the previous AIADMK regime to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET did not get the President’s assent.
