Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) parliamentarians met the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) working president and Municipal Administration Minister, K.T. Rama Rao, here on Wednesday seeking support to oppose the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) held for entry into medical colleges.
Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy and T.K.S. Elangovan called on Mr. Rao at the Telangana Bhavan and handed over a letter written by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to 11 non-BJP ruled States in this regard. Mr. Stalin had earlier written the letter reiterating the DMK government’s opposition to NEET to restore the primacy of the States.
Mr. Elangovan later told reporters that they had sought the support of the TRS government. He claimed the central government was trying to usurp the powers of the State governments through various means. He also said Mr. Rao had responded positively.
TRS sources, however, said the Minister had assured to deliver the letter to the Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and convey their concerns to him.
Mr. Stalin has been arguing that the introduction of NEET by the Central Government was against the spirit of federalism and an effort to curb the rights of the State governments to decide on the method of admission in 0the medical institutions founded, established and run by them.
He argued all the Chief Ministers needed to support the DMK government’s effort so that students from rural and marginalised backgrounds are not put in a disadvantageous position or under pressure. The letters were sent to Chief Ministers of several States including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh apart from Goa.
The DMK government had been opposing the NEET and wanted the 12th class marks as the basis for medical colleges admissions. It also passed a unanimously passed a Bill against NEET in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The Bill is yet to receive Presidential assent.
It had constituted a committee headed by a former judge of the Madras High Court, Justice Rajan to study the impact of NEET on the students, particularly the downtrodden. The Committee felt that NEET impacted the federal structure of the Constitution and had no power to intervene in medical college admissions.
