CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: A day after kicking up a storm in Tamil Nadu, the NEET conundrum rocked the national capital on Friday. DMK legislators demanded a discussion in the Rajya Sabha and staged a walkout, following their Lok Sabha counterparts, who had vociferously raised the issue after the Tamil Nadu Governor on Thursday returned the anti-NEET Bill for the Assembly’s reconsideration.
Meanwhile, DMK MP P Wilson moved a private member Bill seeking to bring the subject of ‘education’ from the Concurrent List to the State List, which has been perceived by political parties in the State as the root cause of many issues relating to education.
In the middle of a raging debate on his decision to return the NEET Bill and a demand from DMK MPs for his recall by the Central government, Governor RN Ravi is scheduled to make a two-day visit to New Delhi from February 7.
Sources said he will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprise them of the developments regarding the NEET Bill. In Chennai, BJP State president K Annamalai demanded a white paper on the reasons spelt out by the Governor for returning the NEET Bill and the State government’s clarification to the reasons. Since this has not been done so far, the BJP would boycott the legislature party meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday.
Taking on the DMK government for not fulfilling its promise to scrap NEET, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam charged that the Governor returned the NEET Bill as the Tamil Nadu government failed to provide appropriate data and views.
DMK, Cong members stage walkout
Meanwhile, at the national capital, sources said the Governor and the Union government are on the same page on the issue, and he has been acting on the advice of the Centre. “The Union government, however, is keen to find a way to diffuse the issue,” the sources added. In the Rajya Sabha, DMK members wanted to raise the issue during the zero hour, but Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not agree and asked them to raise the matter during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.
DMK members, who later trooped into the Well of the House, were supported by Congress members. As the Chairman did not allow them to raise the issue, DMK and Congress members staged a walkout from the House.
DMK leader Tiruchi Siva later said the Governor did not forward the Bill to the Centre despite repeated requests from the chief minister. He said the Bill had been passed unanimously by the Tamil Nadu Assembly and the Governor’s decision was “against the will of the people of Tamil Nadu.”