CM Vijay, DMK leader Stalin speak in one voice against NEET; stress scrapping the exam

CHENNAI: Chief Minister and TVK president C Joseph Vijay and DMK president MK Stalin on Wednesday spoke in one voice against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), asserting that the examination should be scrapped and that its abolition was the only solution to the ongoing nationwide protests.

In a statement, Chief Minister Vijay condemned the detention of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders who participated in a protest supporting the anti-NEET agitation in New Delhi, describing the police action as undemocratic.

He said the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had extended its full support to the demonstration staged by Opposition parties in the Parliament complex.

"The TVK's uncompromising stand is that the NEET examination should be abolished completely. We should not give false promises on NEET, as it affects not only students but also their parents," Vijay said.

Appealing to the Union government, the Chief Minister said education should be brought back to the State List if NEET was to be abolished. He suggested that if there were constitutional or legal hurdles in doing so, the Centre should consider creating a Special Concurrent List that would empower State governments to decide matters relating to education and medical admissions.

"Such a measure would give State governments full authority over issues such as education and medical admissions. TVK had already raised this demand during the party's education awards function," he said.

Urging the BJP-led Union government to respect the sentiments of students and the people of Tamil Nadu, Vijay said abolishing NEET was the only solution to the present crisis.

Echoing the Chief Minister's demand, DMK president M K Stalin said the anti-NEET protest in New Delhi had now captured the attention of the entire country.

In a post on X, Stalin said the DMK was the first party to warn that NEET was designed to facilitate large-scale irregularities and had consistently opposed the examination since its inception.

"We were the first to warn that NEET was designed to enable large-scale irregularities. That is why the DMK has opposed NEET from the very beginning, consistently pointing out the dangers it poses," Stalin said.

He asserted that the abolition of NEET should be the central demand of the ongoing protests, adding that scrapping the examination alone would provide a lasting solution to the issues faced by students. He concluded his message with the hashtag "Ban NEET, Save Students."