Protests and hunger strike are happening in many parts of Tamil Nadu over the conduct of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as the DMK, the ruling dispensation are of the view that screening students through NEET for medical education will discourage and alienate students from the Tamil Nadu state syllabus as many students in the villages do not have access for coaching classes and the questionnaire for the NEET exams are prepared by the CBSE (Central Board Secondary Education).
The NEET issue escalated following the suicide of a 19-year-old boy named Jagadeeswaran who failed to clear the medical entrance NEET exams. The very next day, his father also committed, leading to widespread outrage from various Dravidian parties in the state and was led by the DMK and its allies.
DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday assured all efforts to ensure NEET exemption for the state, as his son and cabinet minister Udhayanidhi led the party’s state-wide hunger strike demanding the abolition of the test.
Stalin also took a swipe at Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, who recently said that he would never sign in favour of the state’s anti-NEET bill. The CM said now that the matter is with the President, the Governor’s job is only that of a “postman” who has to pass on to Rashtrapati Bhavan matters taken up by the state Assembly.