CHENNAI: Stating that Governor Banwarilal Purohit had assured that he would take a decision soon on the Bill providing 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students in medical courses, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that DMK chief MK Stalin was “shedding crocodile tears” on the issue.
His (Stalin’s) moves are nothing but efforts to create an illusion that the assent for the Bill is given only because of his statements, said the CM. Referring to the DMK chief’s criticism over the CM’s announcement that the Covid vaccine would be administered free of cost to everyone in the State, Palaniswami said: “Stalin is already jealous of the goodwill earned by the AIADMK government.
Everyone knows vaccine is the only way to control the virus completely, and people have high expectations of it.” “At this juncture, my announcement was overwhelmingly received by the public. As such, the Leader of the Opposition is treading his path of “statement politics” in this issue as well while people are having a good laugh at his act,” the CM said.
Palaniswami recalled that on October 5, when he called on the Governor, he had urged the latter to give assent to the Bill at the earliest. “I am confident that he will give his assent since it will pave way for establishing social justice for students from the poor and downtrodden sections of the society, in medical admissions,” the CM said, adding that the Governor had also assured the ministers’ team which met him on October 20, that he would take a decision on this soon.
The CM also said the DMK and the Congress, who introduced the NEET initially, had no rights to blame the AIADMK government. The AIADMK government had increased the number of medical seats in the State by 3,050 during the past nine years and established 11 new medical colleges. “So, his (Stalin) crocodile tears will not have any impact on the minds of the people,” the CM said.