CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the decision to conduct national level examinations like NEET in the present pandemic situation as they might turn into superspreaders of COVID-19.
The Centre recently announced its decision to conduct NEET for medical admissions even as the CBSE board exams were cancelled in view of the pandemic.
“We are making all preparations to manage a possible third wave. For that, I appeal to the Union government to allocate more resources to the state. I assure that Tamil Nadu will take all necessary steps to effectively handle this pandemic and stand firm with you to overcome this challenge,” the Chief Minister said, taking part in the meeting on COVID-related issues, chaired by the Prime Minister through video conference.
Thanking the Union government for increasing the allocation of oxygen and remdesivir to Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister renewed his appeal to it to consider his earlier request to bring the GST on all COVID-related items to zero.
Stating that his government had reduced vaccine wastage from six percent to zero percent and successfully created vaccine awareness, the Chief Minister said, “Now the demand for vaccines in Tamil Nadu is very high. However, the allotment for our state is low compared to other states. I already requested for a special allocation of one crore doses to meet this situation. I look forward to your support on this vital issue.”
The Chief Minister recalled that his government had distributed COVID relief package of Rs 4,000 in two installments to two crore families and a grocery kit with 14 items to all these families. The Union government’s additional rice provision to priority cardholders had also been extended to all rice cards. He also requested the Union government to extend this to all eligible cardholders.