At a time when the Government of India is working on a war footing to bring Indians stranded in Ukraine back to their motherland, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has resorted to playing petty politics over the matter ridiculing the Centre’s efforts and also peddling his anti-NEET rhetoric.
In a lengthy statement, CM Stalin attributed Indian student Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar’s death to NEET saying that Naveen had gone to Ukraine because he failed to get a medical seat in India owing to NEET to high fees.
CM Stalin in his statement, not just attacked the Central Government but also those netizens voicing out their support to the Centre’s rescue efforts. He said that remarks by the ‘Union Government’, its Ministers and those supporting the ‘Union Government’ in social media are like casting a ‘thorned fence on burn wounds’.
He also belittled Centre’s rescue efforts saying that this isn’t the time to do propaganda or to advertise. He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to caution his Ministers and those supporting his government on social media to not make remarks against students who had gone abroad out of no choice to pursue their medical dreams.
CM Stalin, as usual, peddled his political agenda of scraping NEET saying that it bars the poor from pursuing their medical dreams and that his party and government has been proactively working towards doing away with the exam.
On Wednesday (March 2), CM Stalin said that the plight of the Indian medical student who died in Ukraine reaffirms the purpose of the NEET exemption bill.
Citing Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy recent outrage over NEET, Stalin said that voices from the neighbouring state of Karnataka has started emerging against the exam.
CM Stalin also said that he is raising his voice to do away with NEET for the whole of India. He pointed out the earlier letter written by him to Chief Ministers of different states to support his stance against NEET which none of the Chief Ministers had replied/acknowledged.
In a bizarre remark CM Stalin said that “The Ukraine risis has created a even stronger reason for the cancellation of the NEET” and kept reemphasizing through the entire letter.
"#Ukraine போன்ற சிறிய நாடுகளுக்கு ஏன் மருத்துவக் கல்வி படிக்கப் போனார்கள்” என்று கேள்வி கேட்க பா.ஜ.க.வுக்கு இதுவா நேரம்?
பரப்புரை செய்யவோ விளம்பரப்படுத்திக் கொள்வதற்கோ உகந்த நேரம் அல்ல. உயிருக்கும் – எதிர்காலத்திற்கும் போராடும் மாணவர்களைக் காப்பாற்றுங்கள். (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Ikp4hXjxkc
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) March 2, 2022
However, it is pertinent to note that many universities in Ukraine do consider qualifying NEET as an eligibility criteria for admissions.
Also, the deceased student Naveen’s father had said that it was due caste-based reservation that his son went to study in Ukraine as he could not get seat despite scoring 97%.
It is true that studying medicine in India is an expensive affair but it is because of politicians running education institutions which charges heavy capitation fee. Many leaders of the DMK themselves run private colleges which allegedly charge high capitation fees.
The Indian Government has launched Operation Ganga to rescue Indians stranded in Ukraine. The evacuation process, which began on 22nd February, has brought back over 6200 persons so far, including 2185 persons coming today through 10 special civilian flights. More than 7400 persons are expected to be brought through special flights in next two days.
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