An all party meeting on exempting Tamil Nadu from the ambit of NEET was convened at the Secretariat in Chennai under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan who had participated on behalf of the BJP walked out of the meeting to protest against the DMK government’s stance on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) that is used for medical college admissions.
Speaking to reporters after, the BJP MLA said that NEET does not impact social justice in anyway and that the BJP does not agree with the NEET exemption resolution brought in by the DMK government.
“Political parties, including the ruling DMK, continue to campaign that ‘social justice’ is being undermined by NEET. But there is no truth in this. NEET does not affect the 69% reservation policy of Tamil Nadu. Admissions to medical colleges are happening under the 69% reservation policy even after NEET. Students from Scheduled Caste, Most Backward and Other Backward Communities are not affected in any way. In fact, they are benefitting because of NEET.”, Vanathi Srinivasan said.
“Prior to NEET, Tamil Nadu, only 30-40 students from government schools were able to get into government medical colleges every year. But after NEET and the 7.5% quota that was introduced by the AIADMK government, more than 220 students from government schools have been admitted to medical colleges. Please give confidence and trust the students of Tamil Nadu. Do not confuse them.”, she added.
She also pointed out that it was the Modi-led BJP Government at the Centre that had brought in the 27% reservation for OBC in medical admissions and allowed for writing the exam in other languages like Tamil.
The BJP MLA also demanded that the DMK government release a white paper on medical colleges run by politicians and the fees/donation charged by them before NEET when students were admitted on the basis of Class 12 marks.
“What was the number of government school students enrolled in medical colleges during the 10 years from 2006 to 2016 when the admission of medical students was based on Class 12 marks?” she asked.
She also pointed out the heavily politically biased AK Rajan Committee report and called it as an exercise meant to buttress DMK’s propaganda.
“AK Rajan Committee report says 99% students who secured admissions post-NEET had gone to coaching classes. But the same committee had replied to an RTI filed that they had no such data. This shows that the committee had given a report just to support the DMK’s claims.”, she said.
She also asked the DMK government to start NEET special classes in government schools at the earliest and not confuse students by indulging in politicking.
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