THOOTHUKUDI: The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s vice president urged the state government to provide reservation of 2.5% seats for government-aided school students aspiring to study medicine through the NEET exams.
Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, Hidayathulla said India will develop only when all the communities are uplifted.
To uplift the downtrodden on education and economy fronts, all masjids have been instructed to float interest-free loan lending units in the state. Currently, there are over 2,500 units to support poor people of all communities, he said.
Speaking about reservations for Muslims in education and employment, Hidayatulla said that former chief minister K Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa had promised to provide 5% reservation, which is currently at 3.5%. He also stated that various states allow aspirants upto 47 and 49 years to write Group I exams, while Tamil Nadu allows BC aspirants of 37 years of age, with a grace period of two years. The Tamil Nadu government should consider allowing 45 years and two years grace period for the Group 1 aspirants, he said.
On reservations in NEET exams, the AIADMK government gave a 7.5% quota for government students from rural areas. However, the Puducherry government had rendered a 10% quota as per the recommendation of the committee.
Stating that nearly 400 students had lost their opportunities, Hidayatulla appealed to the state government to provide the remaining reservation of 2.5% for the government-aided schools.