Anbumani backs anti-NEET Delhi protest, slams violence

CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday (July 21) reiterated his party's demand for the abolition of the NEET exam, calling it anti-social justice and detrimental to rural students, while also urging the State government to convene an all-party meeting and mount a united political and legal campaign against Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu dam project.

Speaking to reporters at Chennai airport before leaving for New Delhi, Anbumani said the party's position remained unchanged: NEET should be scrapped, as it had become commercialised and failed to ensure merit in medical admissions.

Referring to the anti NEET protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, he said students and members of various sections of society had participated in the demonstration to highlight flaws in the examination system. While stressing that protests should remain peaceful, he alleged that the violence was triggered after outsiders infiltrated the agitation and diverted it from its original purpose.

On the Mekedatu dam issue, Anbumani said it was not a political issue concerning any single party but a matter affecting the rights and interests of the people of Tamil Nadu. He called on all political parties, including the DMK, AIADMK, BJP and PMK, to unite in opposing the project.

The PMK leader urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to convene an all-party meeting, take representatives of all parties to New Delhi and jointly meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Jal Shakti Minister to exert pressure against the project.

He further said that if necessary, all MPs from Tamil Nadu should stage a united protest within the Parliament complex to safeguard the state's water rights.

Anbumani also criticised the continuation of arrests under the present government, alleging that the trend was similar to that of the previous administration. He called for "decent and development-oriented politics" and urged political leaders to avoid personal attacks while engaging in public criticism.