Krishnasamy’s death reignites ‘ban NEET’ demand

DMK working president MK Stalin attributed the death of medical aspirant Anitha last year and Krishnasamy now to the AIADMK’s lethargy in getting the President’s nod for the unanimous resolution passed by the Assembly to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET. 

Fearing as to how many more lives would be lost due to the AIADMK regime not waging a legal battle to get permanent exemption from NEET, Stalin hit out at the Centre and the CBSE for not allotting enough centres in Tamil Nadu for the students. 

Adding that he was shocked to note that Kasturi Mahalingam wrote his exam unaware that his father had died, Stalin expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and said the student who dreamt of saving many lives would have to live with the anguish of not being able to save his own father. 

TN Congress president Su Thirunavukkarasar blamed the Centre and state for the death and said the government should immediately pay Rs 50 lakh solatium to the family of the deceased. 

CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan said the state should provide adequate compensation to the deceased person’s family. “The Centre should endorse legislation exempting the state from the purview of NEET. The resolution adopted by TN Legislative Assembly in this regard awaits Presidential assent,” said CPI leader R Mutharasan. “The question of whether the Centre was imposing NEET only to orphan Tamil students within India itself arises,” MDMK leader Vaiko said. 

VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said the state would be held accountable if students who wrote the exams elsewhere failed to fare better. 

“It is shameful that the Centre is imposing it on Tamil Nadu. Both the Centre and state should be held accountable. I demand that the state offer a compensation of Rs 25 lakh,” PMK leader S Ramadoss said. 

BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan slammed Stalin for his remarks drawing parallel to human sacrifice with regard to the present incident.