This Article is From Feb 04, 2022

Tamil Nadu vs Governor Over Medical Exam NEET: 10 Points

Tamil Nadu's opposition party, AIADMK, has blamed the ruling DMK squarely for the NEET row

NEET exemption for Tamil Nadu was an election promise of MK Stalin's DMK

New Delhi: MPs of Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK and the Congress walked out from the Rajya Sabha a day after the state Governor returned a bill - passed by the state assembly - seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test, or NEET.

Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:

  1. After coming to power in May last year, Chief Minister MK Stalin's party passed the bill in September, saying the exam for medical admissions favours affluent classes who can afford private coaching.

  2. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, however, returned the bill, saying it went against the interests of rural and economically poor students. Mr Ravi said the enrolment of government school students in medical colleges has increased due to the NEET.

  3. "Before introduction of the NEET, the share of students from government schools to the seats in government medical colleges was hardly 1 per cent. Thanks to the affirmative action of 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students, that number has improved significantly," Mr Ravi said in his Republic Day speech.

  4. Upset with the Governor's move, DMK members today wanted to raise the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, but Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not agree, and asked them to raise the matter later.

  5. DMK and Congress MPs kept insisting on raising the NEET issue even as some members were speaking on their Zero Hour matters. Soon, the opposition MPs walked out of the house.

  6. Tamil Nadu's opposition party, AIADMK, has blamed the ruling DMK squarely for the NEET row. "If the DMK had withdrawn support to the then Congress-led UPA in 2010 when the exam was introduced, there would have been no NEET issue at all," former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam said, news agency PTI reported.

  7. "Because of DMK's selfishness to stick to power, poor and rural students are now affected," Mr Panneerselvam said, adding that to fulfil DMK's electoral promise, Mr Stalin should put "necessary pressure" on the central government for exemption from NEET.

  8. One of the reasons the Tamil Nadu government cited on Thursday while returning the bill to the state government was that the bill went against the interests of rural and poor students.

  9. Getting exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET was an election promise of the DMK. Mr Panneerselvam alleged the bill has not been forwarded by the Raj Bhavan to the centre for getting Presidential assent due to the "complacent" attitude of the DMK government.

  10. Meanwhile, NEET-PG 2022 has been deferred by six to eight weeks on the request of doctors who said it could clash with the counselling of interns. NEET-PG was to be held on March 12.



Post a comment
.