TIRUVANNAMALAI: NON-VEGETARIAN food is not cooked or served during full-moon days at the eateries along the ‘girivalam’ path around Arunachaleswarar temple, Minister for Public Works EV Velu told reporters on Sunday.
He was responding to Governor R N Ravi’s statement that non-vegetarian food should not be sold on the ‘girivalam’ path. Addressing reporters after inspecting the restoration work at Ayyankulam, Velu said, “Non-vegetarian food is not being sold on the path on full-moon days. However, food is a matter of personal choice and it cannot be regulated by the government. Everyone has the freedom to choose the type of food they wish to consume, and the government cannot dictate what people should eat or sell.”
Talking about steps taken by the DMK in improving education, Velu said former chief minister M Karunanidhi had abolished entrance exams in schools to help economically disadvantaged students.
“However, the current situation prevents students who excelled in government schools for 12 years from directly accessing medical education because of the central government’s NEET. Chief Minister MK Stalin is resolute in prioritising prospects of rural students and we will keep pushing for the abolition of NEET,” Velu said.