Don’t follow DMK’s fearmongering route: BJP fires back

CHENNAI: The BJP's state unit on Tuesday sharply criticised We The Leaders founder K Annamalai for questioning the Centre's stringent security arrangements for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), saying enhanced safeguards were essential to preserve the integrity of the examination.

BJP Youth Wing president SG Suryah said conducting NEET for over 24 lakh students across 4,750 centres required uncompromising security measures. He accused the DMK of politicising NEET for years. In a veiled address at Annamalai, he urged leaders not to revive fear and panic among students ahead of the examination.

BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan said critics of the new protocols were adopting a contradictory stand. "When paper leaks occurred, they demanded accountability and stronger safeguards. Now, when stringent measures are introduced to ensure a fair and leak-proof examination, the same voices call it excessive," she said.

She added that brief security checks were a small price to protect the future of lakhs of students and argued that the real threat to candidates came from paper leaks and organised cheating networks.

BJP state secretary Vinoj P Selvam defended biometric verification, CCTV surveillance and frisking as standard practices followed globally in large-scale competitive examinations. Citing China's Gaokao, he said strict protocols were necessary to protect merit and ensure credibility.