Politics over NEET returns, all eyes on Governor now

Tamil Nadu govt had passed a Bill granting 7.5% reservation to government school students who clear NEET to get into medical admissions

The politics over National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was back at the center-stage in Tamil Nadu.

All eyes are now on Governor Banwarilal Purohit as he is sitting on legislation passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly granting a 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students who clear NEET to get into medical admissions.

The Bill was passed on September 15 by the Assembly, but the Governor is yet to give his assent despite Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar, and Law Minister C Ve Shanmugham clarifying the doubts raised by him.

The issue has now taken a political turn with Opposition parties questioning the “inordinate” delay in the Governor giving his seal of approval. DMK, AMMK run by AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran, PMK, and other political parties have appealed to Purohit to take a decision at the earliest as NEET results have already been released.

They also sought to know how Palaniswami was “maintaining silence” on the issue.

“The Governor not giving his assent to the Bill passed by the Assembly and the Chief Minister maintaining silence is a betrayal of the interests of students. Is the Governor-Chief Minister alliance trying to put it in cold storage like the Bills that sought state-specific exemption from NEET for Tamil Nadu?”, Stalin asked.

The Centre had in 2017 rejected two state-specific Bills passed by the Assembly seeking exemption.

The move to provide reservation was taken after the number of government school students getting into medical colleges witnessed a massive dip in the past few years after the introduction of NEET. The 7.5 per cent reservation would ensure that at least 300 government school students get into medical colleges every year after clearing NEET.

Dhinakaran said that the actions by the Governor and the Chief Minister rose doubts on whether the government was trying to cheat the students yet again. “The government informing the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that it will conduct medical counseling only after the Governor's assent shows its helplessness,” he said.

On his part, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said that it was the “constitutional obligation” of the Governor to give his assent to the Bill. “We are hopeful that the Governor will do his duty as enshrined in the Constitution,” Jayakumar said.