Tamil Nadu Governor promised to forward anti-NEET bill for Presidential assent, says CM Stalin

On February 8, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had adopted once again the anti-NEET Bill and sent it Raj Bhavan for getting Presidential assent

Presenting a copy of Dravidian Model which interprets the state’s political economy to Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday said he secured an assurance from the former that the NEET Bill re-enacted by the Assembly last month will be forwarded to the President for his consideration.

Stalin met Ravi at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai, over a month after the NEET Bill was passed once again by the Tamil Nadu Assembly following the Governor’s decision to return the original legislation passed in September 2021 to the House.

During the meeting with Ravi, Stalin urged the Governor to forward the Bill that seeks exemption from NEET for students from Tamil Nadu to President Ram Nath Kovind. An official release from the government said Stalin also nudged the Governor to decide on pending legislation to protect the “sanctity” of the House and as a mark of respect to the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu.

Also read: A crisis in access to medical education

“Met the Governor and presented him, Dravidian Model. Sought his immediate action on NEET Bill. The Governor gave an assurance that he will forward the Bill to the President,” Stalin said in a tweet, posting a picture of him presenting Dravidian Model penned by A. Kalaiyarasan and M. Vijayabaskar to Ravi, a former IPS officer.

Dravidian Model, released in 2021 after the Assembly elections, talks about the politics of the Dravidian parties and how they ushered in a new era of economic development in the state. After assuming office as Chief Minister, Stalin has been talking much about the Dravidian Model of governance with social justice at its core, in what many see as a challenge to the much-talked-about Gujarat Model.

The meeting also came on the day Murasoli, DMK’s mouthpiece, asked Ravi not to be “scared of” the word federalism in response to his statement that those advocating federalism must understand that India is not a 'contractual union, but an organic one."

The bill, which was passed on February 7, was handed over at the Raj Bhavan the same evening. Since the Bill is yet to be sent to the president, the CM, sources said, decided to call on the Governor and urge him to forward the legislation to New Delhi.

Experts said the Governor has no choice but to send the Bill to the President this time as it has been sent back to him by the Assembly but there is no “timeframe” for him to decide on the same.

NEET has always been an emotive issue in Tamil Nadu since it was first held in the state in 2017 with at least a dozen students ending their lives either due to fear of appearing for the exam or being not able to clear the exam. The state government wants the exam scrapped.

The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Act, 2021, which bats for doing away with NEET and reverting to admitting students in medical colleges based on their plus-two marks, was passed by the state Assembly with support from principal opposition, AIADMK, on September 13.

In an unusual move, the Raj Bhavan had on February 3 issued a press note which said the Governor concluded that the Bill “is against interests of the students, especially the rural and economically poor students of the State” after a detailed study of the legislation and a report submitted by Justice (retired) A K Rajan which formed the basis for the legislation.

Ruling DMK hit back immediately by demanding the Governor’s “recall” immediately. The Bill is a major poll promise of the ruling DMK, which has time and again reiterated that it will even take the legal route to get the exam scrapped.

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