NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, SEP 13
On the last day of Assembly, Chief Minister M K Stalin introduced a Bill, to dispense with NEET and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class XII marks to ensure social justice as per DMK’s poll promise.
However, the death by suicide of a medical aspirant fearing outcome of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test he was to take, echoed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, with the main opposition AIADMK targeting the government.
As soon as the House convened, Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami referred to the death by suicide of 19-year-old Dhanush in his native Salem district on Sunday and targeted the government on the matter.
நீட் தேர்வு பயத்தால் சேலத்தை சேர்ந்த தனுஷ் தற்கொலை செய்துக்கொண்டதற்கு திமுக அரசுதான் காரணம் ; தேர்வை ரத்து செய்வோம் என வாக்குறுதி கொடுத்து ஏமாற்றிவிட்டார்கள்
– மாண்புமிகு சட்டமன்ற எதிர்கட்சித் தலைவர் திரு. எடப்பாடி கே. பழனிசாமி அவர்கள்.
— AIADMK – Say No To Drugs & DMK (@AIADMKOfficial) September 13, 2021
He said that though the DMK had promised “cancelling” NEET it was not done and several students had not prepared well. Some of his remarks were expunged by Speaker M Appavu. He sought a job for a person from the family, besides cash assistance.
The opposition party MLAs, who came to the House wearing black badges, staged a walkout led by Palaniswami.
AIADMK MLAs staged a walkout from assembly alleging that they were not allowed to speak on the death of 20-year-old NEET aspirant Dhanush.
However, Opposition Leader EPS says they will support the anti-NEET bill moved by TN Govt. #TNAssembly #NEET pic.twitter.com/M3nGxnePwo— *RamaniTweetMediaReport (@rammee2205) September 13, 2021
On Sunday, hours before he was to appear for NEET for a third time, 19-year-old Dhanush belonging to a village near Salem died by suicide, fearing the outcome of the test he was to take and the incident triggered a blame game with the AIADMK holding the DMK regime responsible for the death and the state government targeting the Centre.
சமூகநீதியின் பிறப்பிடமாம் தமிழ்நாட்டில் சமவாய்ப்பை மறுத்து மாணவர்களின் உயிரைப் பறிக்கும் ஆட்கொல்லியாக #NEET இருக்கிறது; மாநிலப் பொதுசுகாதாரக் கட்டமைப்பை வலுவிழக்கச் செய்கிறது.
இதற்கு முடிவுகட்டி, +2 மதிப்பெண் அடிப்படையில் சேர்க்கையை மேற்கொள்ளும் சட்டமுன்வடிவை அறிமுகம் செய்தேன். pic.twitter.com/ZrZKglWuk2
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 13, 2021
Chief Minister Stalin, replying, said NEET was conducted for the first time in Tamil Nadu when Palaniswami was the Chief Minister and it was not held even when late J Jayalalithaa was the CM. Recalling the death by suicides of students, including S Anita in recent years, he said all these happened when Palaniswami was the CM.
The student Dhanush who took the extreme step could not clear the exam twice when the AIADMK was in power.
Stalin also targeted the AIADMK over rejection of Bills enacted during its regime in 2017 to get the state exempted from the ambit of NEET and also for hiding it from the House.
Stalin introduced the Bill and appealed to all to support it for social justice, indicating that the present initiative would be fully different from what was done before during the AIADMK regime.
The Bill seeks to provide for admission to UG courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine, and homeopathy on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, (Class XII).
The Bill, referring to recommendations of a high level committee, said the government has decided to enact a law to dispense with the requirement of NEET for admission to UG Medical degree courses and to provide admission to such courses on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, through “Normalisation methods” in order to ensure “social justice, uphold equality and equal opportunity, protect all vulnerable student communities from being discriminated and bring them to the mainstream of medical and dental education and in turn to ensure a robust public health care across the state particularly the rural areas.”
