BJP leader K Nagarajan had sought to quash the state government’s panel on the effects of NEET on backward communities, which the Madras HC dismissed.
Following the Madras High Court’s dismissal of BJP leader K Nagarajan’s plea against the state government’s committee on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), Chief Minister MK Stalin welcomed the verdict. The committee was formed by the state government, headed by Justice AK Rajan, to prepare a report on whether the NEET has an adverse effect on students from backward classes, and if so, to recommend remedial measures.
The Chief Minister said that the “important verdict is the starting point for the Tamil Nadu government’s determination and efforts,” vis-a-vis NEET. On Monday, July 12, the first bench of Madras High Court consisting of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy dismissed the petition, saying that “by no stretch of imagination can the constitution of the Commission be seen as contrary to the orders of the Supreme Court or the powers vested with the Union government”.
The case pertains to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by K Nagarajan, general secretary of the state unit of the BJP, seeking to quash this year’s June 10 order of the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare (MCA-1) department which constituted the Commission, as unconstitutional, illegal, unfair and without legal justification.
Following the verdict, the Chief Minister said that the verdict has not just upheld the rights of the students, but also the state. He regretted that students would have to face the NEET this year, as the legal steps after the submission of the committee’s report would not be completed before September, when the exam is slated to be conducted. “But we will ensure a situation where we would have ended the difficulties caused to our students due to NEET,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister welcomed the High Court’s verdict and described it as a “solid blow” to the “duplicity” of the BJP, and also slammed its ally AIADMK on the issue. While the BJP had supported withdrawal of NEET in the state Assembly if it was legally okay, the party also went to court against the AK Rajan Committee, and this exposed its “duplicity,” CM Stalin said in a party statement. The DMK, headed by Stalin, had made the abolition of NEET a poll promise for the April 6 Assembly elections, which it won.
He assured to take further steps on the issue after the committee submitted its report. “This is a very important verdict in our struggle against NEET. It is the starting point for the government’s efforts to fulfill the dreams of medical education aspirants,” he said.
Read: Madras HC dismisses BJP leader’s plea against TN govt’s NEET panel
Read: ‘DMK against NEET, but students need to prepare for now’: TN Health Minister Ma Subramanian
Read: NEET on September 12: Application process begins on July 13
Source: The News Minute