CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government will withdraw all police cases registered against students who participated in the anti-NEET protests held in July, School Education Minister A Rajmohan announced on Sunday, saying the decision was taken on the directions of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
In a post on X, Rajmohan said that as per the directions of the CM, all cases registered against students who protested against NEET will be withdrawn.
The protests in Tamil Nadu were triggered after Delhi Police cracked down on students demonstrating at Jantar Mantar on July 20 in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) anti-NEET agitation.
In Chennai, student organisations launched solidarity protests the same night. After police allegedly denied permission for demonstrations in public places, CPI opened its state headquarters, Balan Illam in T Nagar, where students staged a sit-in.
Members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), both part of the CJP’s protest committee in Delhi, also organised protests at Rajarathinam Stadium.
The TVK government faced criticism for denying permission for public demonstrations and detaining protesters, including SFI and DYFI student leaders from Madurai Kamaraj University ahead of a planned protest.
“Even during the protests, we questioned why the government was denying permission or trying to stop demonstrations when its stand is also against NEET. At least three cases were registered against us. We see the decision to withdraw them as a positive step,” said S Mridhula, state president of SFI.