DMK MPs’ team to meet CMs to muster support against NEET

Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday advised a DMK Parliamentary delegation to visit 12 state CMs and muster support of the state governments for the stand of Tamil Nadu on the NEET issue. Earlier, he wrote to his counterparts in 12 states, mostly non-BJP ruled states, to join him in “restoring the primacy of the state governments in administering the education sector, as envisaged in the Constitution.” 

Enclosing a copy of Justice AK Rajan committee report on impact of NEET and the recently passed Tamil Nadu Admission to UG Medical Degree Courses Act 2021 that does away with NEET in Tamil Nadu, Stalin in his letter to 12 state chief ministers said, “We need to put up a united effort to restore the primacy of the state governments in administering the education sector as envisaged in the Constitution.” 

Stalin has written to non-BJP Chief Ministers of Andhra, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal besides Goa (BJP) which is ruled by the BJP. 

Reiterating that the Union government’s move to introduce NEET goes against the spirit of federalism and violates the Constitutional balance of power by curbing the rights of state governments to decide on the method of admission in the medical institutions established and run by them, Stalin said, “We consider that the state governments need to assert their Constitutional right and position in deciding the method of admission to their higher educational institutions.” 

He requested the 12 CMs to “kindly go through the documents and extend their support in this regard to ensure that the students of our respective states, hailing from rural areas and marginalised sections of the society are not put to hardship in obtaining admissions into higher educational institutions.” 

The DMK MPs delegation will detail the efforts made by Tamil Nadu government on the issue and provide a translated copy of AK Rajan Committee report to the Chief Ministers during the meeting, a statement from the state government said.