NEET quota row: Tamil Nadu governor faces wrath of political parties

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit is facing the heat of the political parties as he said that he needs three weeks more time to give assent to the for 7.5% NEET reservation for government school students in medical admission. Opposition parties CPI and VCK have demanded the resignation of the constitutional head.

Chennai: Facing political heat in the Dravidian heartland, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has joined the list of Raj Bhavan occupants who are on a warpath with the state governments. His prolonged indecision on certain issues in which there is near political unanimity has invited the wrath of political parties, including the allies of the ruling AIADMK.

Not to leave an opportunity to take on the BJP and the AIADMK government, the principal opposition DMK is holding a massive protest against the Governor tomorrow. What sparked off the outrage against the Raj Bhavan was the Governor sitting over the Bill providing for 7.5% horizontal reservation for students who had cleared NEET exam and had studied in government schools from class 6th to 12th, in medical admissions. The Bill was passed in the last Assembly Session in September following the recommendation of an expert panel.

The DMK's decision to drag the Governor to the streets followed his reply to party president MK Stalin that it would require 3-4 weeks to ascertain clarifications on the Bill with legal luminaries. Significantly, the Governor taking nearly month to decide on the fate of the Bill comes close on the heels of a team of Tamil Nadu Ministers calling on him to secure assent for the legislation in view of the fast-approaching medical admission counselling. Earlier, the AIADMK government had told the Madras High Court that it would not hold counselling until the Raj Bhavan took a decision on the Bill.

NEET continues to be a live issue in the state which had abolished entrance examination and is taking the score in the Board exams for medical admissions. As such, political parties barring the BJP are opposing NEET. Now, with the number of students from government school getting into medical colleges dwindling to single-digit numbers, the government had brought in the 7.5% quota which would ensure around 400 students entering medical colleges.

Political parties see the governor's studied silence as a dilatory tactic to make the legislation redundant for the current academic year. “The governor sitting on the Bill is a betrayal of Tamil Nadu students,” read Stalin's statement, criticising the Raj Bhavan.

Going a step further, the CPI(M) and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) have demanded that Purohit be recalled.

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“The governor is violating the Constitution and established procedure. He is creating a hindrance to the elected government and hence he should be recalled,” said VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan, MP. At a protest organised by the Marxist party earlier this week, CPI(M) leader G Ramakrishnan demanded that the governor should be removed immediately.

“The governor is bargaining with the state government to accede to the 10% EWS quota to give his assent for the bill,” charged another Marxist leader Kanagaraj in a tweet.

While TNCC president KS Alagiri has condemned the governor's indecision, the PMK, an ally of the AIADMK, had come down heavily on the Raj Bhavan and the state government. Even the BJP has welcomed the Bill, though it has stopped short of targeting the Governor.

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But, this is not the first time that the Governor had ruffled political feathers. Soon after taking over charge, he conducted review meetings with officials. He had to give it up after protests by the opposition. Next, was the appointment of Vice-Chancellors from outside the state which gave rise to a controversy. And the most contentious was the Institution of Eminence tag to Anna University, a premier technical varsity in the country which was opposed by academicians and the state government since it would rob it off the 69% reservation in practice. Another thorny issue is the release of seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case for which the state cabinet had passed a resolution as per the Supreme Court directive over which the governor has not taken any decision.

“The governor cannot sit indefinitely on granting assent to the Bill. He should be aware of it when it was before Assembly. It is not his will and pleasure as he is constitutionally obliged to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. As such, taking 3-4 months to get clarifications, gives enough room to believe that he is acting under the dictates of the Centre. By this delay, the medical counselling will be over and those affected would be the poor students. He is undermining the legitimacy of the elected government,” said political analyst K Elangovan.

“No wonder, the delay would cost the AIADMK as well as the BJP dearly in the coming Assembly elections. It would give a handle to the opposition,” he added.