Prez nixes TN’s NEET exemption Bill; Stalin terms it a ‘Black Phase for Federalism’ and convenes all-party meet

In yet another blow to Tamil Nadu, the Union Government has nixed the NEET exemption Bill, passed by the state assembly twice and referred for Presidential assent. Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin, terming it a ‘Dark Phase for Federalism’, announced an all-party meeting on April 9, to decide the next course of action.

Informing the Assembly of the Bill, passed unanimously in 2021 and 2022, being rejected by the Union Government after keeping it pending for long, Stalin said, “With a heavy heart I am sharing this information. The authoritarian attitude of the Union Government in disregarding and insulting the dignity of the House, elected by the people, is a Dark Phase for Federalism, enshrined in the Constitution.”

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To decide the future course of action, the Chief Minister said a meeting of the legislature party leaders of all the parties will be held on April 9 in the evening at the secretariat. “Though the Tamil Nadu Government had provided all the necessary clarifications sought by various Ministries of the Union Government without any delay, Presidential assent has been rejected. But our fight has not come to a dead end, and it will continue. Consultations with legal experts will also be held,” he said.

He recalled the House also passing a resolution in June last to permit the state to decide the admissions to MBBS and other medical programmes based on Plus Two marks alone as was the practice prior to the introduction of NEET. Interestingly, West Bengal too has joined the anti-NEET chorus. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav have opposed the NEET.

It is a setback for the state, which has been fighting for exemption from the NEET examination for medical courses and to permit the state to continue with the Plus 2 (Class XII) marks as the eligibility criteria. Barring the BJP, all the parties in the state are on the same page in denouncing NEET and have demanded that Tamil Nadu be excluded from its purview. And one of the major pre-poll pledges of the DMK was securing NEET exemption. Tamil Nadu dispensed with the Entrance examination for both Medical and Engineering education as the system favoured the rich and the well-off sections of society who could afford coaching.

Further, many private schools were found to be skipping the 11th class syllabus to coach the students on the 12th class syllabus. Further, it is argued that NEET encroached upon State Autonomy. Whenever a NEET candidate commits suicide, the issue comes to the fore. NEET is also beset with cases of impersonation and paper leaks.