The Bill seeking to dispense with NEET, which the State Assembly had passed for the second time after the first Bill was returned by the Governor, has not been received by the Union government for the President’s assent, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar informed Parliament on Thursday.
Responding to DMK MP A. Raja, who sought to know whether a delegation from Tamil Nadu had approached the government for getting the presidential assent for the Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021; and what the Union government’s stand was on providing exemption to students from Tamil Nadu from NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses, the Minister said it was the Ministry of Home Affairs that deals with the Bills reserved by the Governor.
“As informed by the MHA, no such Bill has been received for the assent of the President of India,” the Minister said.
Last month, in a special session of the State Assembly, the Bill was unanimously re-adopted after the previous Bill was returned by Governor R.N. Ravi.
Earlier this month, during a meeting between Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Mr. Ravi, the Governor was reported to have assured the Chief Minister that he will forward the Bill to the Centre for getting the presidential assent.
