CHENNAI: Public Works and Sports Development Minister and TVK Election Management General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna on Wednesday urged the Union government to move education back to the State List and condemned the action taken against anti-NEET protesters in New Delhi.
In a statement posted on his X account, Aadhav said Tamil Nadu was the first State to oppose the introduction of NEET for medical admissions and had consistently maintained its stand against the examination. He claimed that the opposition to NEET had now spread across the country, with students staging peaceful protests demanding its abolition.
Alleging that the Union government had failed to recognise the legitimacy of the students' democratic protest, Aadhav condemned the reported detention of protesters and the use of force against them.
He also criticised the detention of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, who had extended support to the students' protest in New Delhi, describing the action as an attack on democratic rights.
Aadhav urged the Union government to immediately abolish NEET and initiate steps to move education back to the State List. He said he would continue to support the demand for scrapping NEET and stand by the rights of students.
Notably, the statement was issued through Aadhav's personal X account and did not mention either the TVK or the State government, indicating that it was made in his individual capacity rather than as an official government statement.
Meanwhile, rap singer Arivu, who attempted to stage a protest near the Secretariat in support of the anti-NEET agitation in Delhi, was detained by the police. After his release, he met Minister Aadhav Arjuna at the Secretariat. Following a brief meeting, the Minister saw Arivu off cordially. Neither Arivu nor the Minister disclosed the details of their discussion to the media.