CHENNAI: The Anti-NEET Joint Action Committee agitation, of which Anitha's brother Manirathnam is part, in a statement, emphasised its primary demands to the Union government: the immediate abolition of the medical entrance, NEET, to conduct medical admissions based on Class 12 board examination marks, and the transfer of education from the Concurrent to the State List.
The organisers said the movement was not merely a protest against an entrance examination but a broader struggle to safeguard Tamil Nadu's rights over education, state autonomy, public healthcare and social justice.
It called upon the people of Tamil Nadu, political parties, and student and youth organisations to unite under the demand to abolish NEET and fight to protect the state's rights over education.
The organisation had launched an indefinite hunger strike at Thiruvalluvar Illam, the headquarters of the Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi, in Chinmaya Nagar, Koyambedu on Saturday, along with members of the Anti-NEET Joint Action Committee.
Besides seeking the scrapping of NEET, the protesters also demanded the withdrawal of cases registered against students who participated in the recent anti-NEET demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The ongoing hunger strike, led by Ravi, Pulianthope Mohan, Jeeva and Dhanasekar, along with Anitha's brother, aims to intensify the calls to cancel NEET, it said.
The statement also recalled Anitha, the student from Ariyalur who had challenged the implementation of NEET and fought the issue up to the Supreme Court.
After she was denied relief, her death by suicide in 2017 became a major turning point in the anti-NEET movement in Tamil Nadu, triggering widespread protests by students and youngsters across the state.
The statement also urged the Tamil Nadu government to expedite the legal and legislative measures being taken to secure exemption from NEET.