Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin urges for Presidential assent to anti-NEET bill 'at the earliest'

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday urged President Droupadi Murmu to give assent to the state's anti-NEET bill at the earliest, taking up the matter with her during her visit here. The President was here to participate in the convocation of the Indian Maritime University.

The CM handed over a letter to the President at the airport in this connection, an official release said. The Tamil Nadu Admission to Under Graduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, originally passed in September that year by the state Assembly, was returned by State Governor RN Ravi later. The Bill sought exemption for Tamil Nadu from the ambit of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET). It was reintroduced and adopted by the Assembly in February 2022 and sent again to the Governor for 'reserving' the same for Presidential assent, Stalin said in the letter to Murmu. The Governor has now forwarded it to the Union Home Ministry.

Also Read | NEET Ban: MK Stalin launches signature campaign against NEET in Tamil Nadu

Stalin told Murmu the Bill "has been pending for the Presidential assent for more than a year." "All the clarifications sought on the Bill by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs based on the comments of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Higher Education, MoE and Ministry of Ayush have been provided expeditiously. Since there had been no progress after our replies, in my letter dated August 14, 2023, I had highlighted the various adverse impacts due to this delay like the lost opportunities for the underprivileged students and many student suicides and had urged you to grant assent without any further delay," Stalin said in his communication to the President.

The latest queries from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have also been replied to. "But unfortunately, the assent to our Bill has not been provided till now. In this scenario, I once again wish to reiterate that the inordinate delay in granting assent to our Bill has deprived medical admissions for many deserving students who could not afford costly coaching facilities and has effectively stalled the intent of the broad legislative, political and social consensus in Tamil Nadu." "I, therefore, solicit your kind and immediate intervention in this sensitive issue and urge you to accord assent to the above Bill at the earliest," he added.

Also Read | 'Challenges became opportunities' at Nagaland's first medical college, says director

The DMK has been opposed to the central qualifying test, insisting it was against social justice and the interests of rural medical aspirants. "Considering the fact that the NEET based medical selection process is against students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, Tamil Nadu has opted for the MBBS selection process through the +2 (class 12) marks. This process has served our state’s interests well in the past but had to be discontinued due to the Union Government’s introduction of NEET and subsequent changes in Union legislations," the CM said.