AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday questioned whether the increasing number of deaths among medical aspirants bothers the conscience of the ruling DMK government.
A 21-year-old student who was preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for the fourth consecutive time died by suicide at her house near Chennai, on Friday evening.
The deceased as S Devadarshini had cleared her Class 12 exam in 2021.
Taking to social media platform X, Palaniswami, the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, blamed the DMK for introducing the NEET exam when their ally, Congress, was in power at the Centre before 2014.
"Not only did the DMK introduce the NEET exam to the country, and along with the coalition party, it took it all the way to the Supreme Court to argue against it, laying the foundation for destroying the medical dreams of Tamil Nadu students, but it also lied and deceived them by saying, 'If it comes to power, there will be no NEET exam in Tamil Nadu,' and the continuing NEET deaths are not a cause for concern for the DMK," Palaniswami said.
The AIADMK leader also said that the blood of these aspirants is in the hands of the ruling dispensation.
The former chief minister named as many as 19 students, and alleged they had ended their lives, between September 2021 and March 2025, due to fears over clearing NEET. “What is the answer from Chief Minister M K Stalin for the 19 lives lost?” Palaniswami asked. He also appealed to the students to remain positive and work towards success.
Devadarshini, according to police was passionate about becoming a doctor. She had taken the NEET three times earlier but failed to clear the cut-off. Unlike some of her peers, she did not enrol in any other professional course, focusing on achieving her goal of becoming a doctor for the last three years.
On Thursday, she looked a bit dejected when she returned home from coaching centre, following which her parents tried to cheer her up.
On Friday, while she was assisting her father in the bakery, she excused herself to go home on the pretext of using the washroom and did not return. She was found dead in her house a few minutes later.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)