Governor discharging Constitutional duty, says OPS

Even while maintaining that the AIADMK would continue to oppose the national level entrance-cum-eligibility test for medical admission, party coordinator and former deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam said Governor RN Ravi was only exercising his constitutional duty while returning the Bill seeking exemption from NEET, which the State Assembly had passed, to the Speaker.

The comments came at a time when the Governor has come under attack from all parties except BJP and AIADMK for returning the anti-NEET bill, with some even seeking his recall.

Speaking to the media after attending the wedding of former MLA K Tamilarasan’s son at Melur in Madurai on Saturday, Panneerselvam reiterated that the AIADMK had been opposing NEET in the past, a position on which it was remaining steadfast today and would continue.

He was responding to a query from the media about the Governor’s two-day visit to Delhi from February 7 to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, ostensibly to apprise them about the latest developments. Noting that the entrance exam has caused considerable harm to the aspirants from the State, he stressed that the principal opposition party would continue its fight against NEET till TN was granted exemption from the test.

Seeking to turn the tables on the ruling party, which has been criticising the AIADMK especially after it decided to boycott the all-party meeting that DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin had convened in Chennai on Saturday, Panneerselvam alleged that the test was introduced when the Congress-led coalition was in power at the Centre, in which DMK was a key partner.