Chennai: Reaffirming his party's long-standing opposition to NEET, senior DMK leader T K S Elangovan on Wednesday called for the immediate abolition of the centralised medical entrance exam, accusing the ruling BJP at the Centre of sustaining a system that "favours" commercial coaching centers and paper leak cartels over meritorious students.
Speaking on the party's primary political mandate, Elangovan emphasised that scrapping NEET has remained a core promise in DMK's election manifestos, backed consistently by voters across Tamil Nadu.
He told PTI Videos that the current admission framework penalises bright students from underprivileged backgrounds who lack the financial means for private test preparation, citing the tragic death of Ariyalur student Anitha as a turning point in the state's struggle against the exam.
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"Why NEET when students can get good marks in their school final examination? Those students who have got very good marks could not get admission in medical colleges because they could not afford money for coaching," Elangovan said.
According to him, the widespread paper leaks in Northern states undermine the credibility of the entire process. "It suits the BJP to have NEET... question papers are leaked. The coaching centers themselves give question papers to the students. This is the atrocious thing happening in India."
Addressing the recent protests in New Delhi led by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the DMK spokesperson justified the decision to take the agitation to the streets, claiming parliamentary discussions were being systematically suppressed.
"If he starts speaking in Parliament, the Speaker or the Chairman will adjourn the house and run away. So he had to fight from the street," Elangovan remarked.
Read more: NEET by itself is "irregularity," alleges DMK
Demanding a return to state-level admissions based strictly on Class 12 board exam results, the DMK leader reiterated that public support remains overwhelmingly in favour of restoring state autonomy in medical education.
