CHENNAI: DMK youth wing secretary and Tamil Nadu sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday mounted sharp attacks on Governor RN Ravi as well as the opposition AIADMK and BJP on the NEET issue. He said he will take the protest to New Delhi after getting the party leadership’s approval.
Leading a state-wide one-day hunger strike, Udhayanidhi blamed the union government for 21 deaths by suicide attributed to the medical entrance test. He charged that these are not “suicides but murders by the BJP-led union government, supported by AIADMK”.
Speaking of the governor’s statements in support of NEET, he said, “Resign from your post. Select a constituency. Meet the people and explain your ideology. The people of TN will beat you with chappals.” The minister said that if the governor were able to win a seat he (Udhayanidhi) would heed his words and come forward to support NEET.
The test has nothing to do with quality, say docs during protest
Challenging the AIADMK, Udhayanidhi asked if the party had the guts to adopt a resolution against the NEET and the union government at its Madurai conference on Sunday. He further invited the AIADMK to stage a protest in front of PM Narendra Modi’s house over test. “They can take the credit for abolishing NEET if they come forward to take part in the protest against the test along with DMK and other parties,” he said.
Speaking of the next course of action on NEET, he said the hunger strike is not an end but a beginning. “The next protest will take place in Delhi after getting the due permission from the leadership.” He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has assured that NEET will be abolished if INDIA, the opposition alliance, comes to power.
The one-day hunger strike was held in all district headquarters, except Madurai, by the DMK’s youth wing, students’ wing, and doctors’ wing. The protest site in Chennai saw thousands of DMK supporters, functionaries, elected officials, medical professionals, and students converge from as early as 9 am.
The hunger strike was launched by DMK’s general secretary and water resource minister Duraimurugan, who said he hoped history would eventually credit Udhayanidhi’s leadership for the abolition of NEET. On display on the stage was a collage of medical aspirants who had ended their lives over the test, including S Anita of Ariyalur, and floral tributes were paid to them. Among the participants were a newly-wedded couple, A Anbanantham and V Sowarnapriya, who joined the hunger strike for a few hours with a placard advocating the ban of NEET. They arrived at the protest site after their marriage was solemnised by CM MK Stalin at his camp office on Sunday morning.
Anbanantham told TNIE that their participation was driven by the belief that eradicating NEET was more important than celebrating their wedding day. Several medical professionals and hundreds of medical students also took part in the protest. Dr V Ramesh told TNIE, “Only the affluent can afford the expenses of the coaching centres apart from the schooling expenses. It would be a burden to not only the poor but also the middle class. It has been helping only the elite and affluent. As a doctor, I know that the NEET is nothing to do with the quality of doctors and it should be abolished.”
DMK cadres and functionaries at the spot were very keen to garner Udhayanidhi’s attention, many of them urging second-rung leaders to take them to the leader and gain them an introduction. Some, who brought their children, got photographed with him by having their wards presenting him with books.
During the protest, the elected representatives and other leaders elaborated on the object of the protest. A short film about Ariyalur Anitha was screened. Anitha had ended her life after being unable to get a medical seat despite securing 1176 marks in the board examinations.
Similar protests were led by DMK leaders and ministers in all district headquarters. The school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi speaking at Thanjavur said the AIADMK should set aside political differences and pressure its ally, the BJP, to abolish NEET. Higher education minister K Ponmudy, leading the protest at Villupuram, said at least 14 other states had demanded scrapping of NEET and said his party’s main demand is to bring education to the State list.
(with inputs from Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchy and Villupuram)