Tamil Nadu's DMK to continue protest over reservation Bill

DMK President MK Stalin said that if the Governor gives his nod to the Bill to ensure reservation for government school students in medical college admissions in Tamil Nadu, 300 students from government schools will get admission in medical colleges or else only eight students will get admissions.

Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin on Saturday said his party will continue to protest till Governor Banwarilal Purohit gave assent to a Bill to ensure reservation for government school students in medical college admissions in Tamil Nadu.

Leading a massive DMK protest to demand assent to the Bill sent to the Governor nearly 40 days ago, Stalin said the party after returning to power will seek all legal recourses to get the state exemption from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy on preferential basis to the students of the Government Schools Bill, 2020 providing 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students was passed by the Assembly on September 15.

Condemning the ruling AIADMK government, Stalin questioned why Chief Minister K Palaniswami was not urging Purohit to give his nod to the Bill.

Stalin said that if Palaniswami did not ask the Governor to cut the delay, the DMK will question him.

Stalin, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said that two Bills seeking exemption from NEET were passed unanimously in the Assembly in 2017 and sent to President Ram Nath Kovind for assent. However, the Bills were sent back to Tamil Nadu seven months later. This matter came to public notice 23 months later due to a court case, Stalin alleged.

He said the NEET results have been declared and counselling should start soon.

Stalin claimed that the NEET was mired in confusion as there have been instances of proxies writing the exams, and in declaration of results.

"If the Governor gives his nod to the Bill, 300 students from government schools will get admission in medical colleges or else only eight students will get admissions," the DMK leader said.

On Thursday, Stalin had said that his party will hold a massive protest outside the Raj Bhavan after he received a reply to his letter from Purohit.

Purohit maintained that he needed three to four weeks to arrive at a decision on the Bill for 7.5 per cent horizontal reservation in medical college admissions to those who had studied in government schools in Tamil Nadu.

PTI Report