He said the State could have filled the seats by holding another round of counselling with relaxed eligibility criteria for in-service government doctors. Of the 214 seats reserved for government doctors out of 430, only 63 were filled, leaving 151 vacant. Calling the order a blow to Tamil Nadu's rights and medical education system, Shanmugam urged the government to engage senior lawyers, pass an Assembly resolution opposing the transfer of State quota super-speciality seats to the All India Quota, and continue its demand to move education back to the State List. He also sought better career prospects for super-speciality graduates and a reduction in the Rs 40 lakh bond amount for private doctors.