Chennai
oi-Prakash KL
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK president Joseph Vijay on Wednesday threw his party’s weight behind the nationwide protests over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, while sharply criticising the detention of opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
In a statement issued here, the actor-turned-politician termed the arrests “undemocratic” and said the Union government’s actions were “condemnable.”
Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay supports protests against NEET irregularities, condemning the undemocratic detention of opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, and calls for NEET’s abolition, proposing education be moved to the State List or a Special Concurrent List created.
Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had joined agitating students in Delhi before being taken into preventive custody on Tuesday.
“Several leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition, stepped forward to support the youth protesting against NEET irregularities. Their arrest is undemocratic,” Vijay said in his statement.
Vijay further announced that his party, Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam, would extend full support to the opposition’s protest within the Parliament complex on Wednesday, in response to Tuesday’s developments.
Reiterating his party’s longstanding position, the Chief Minister demanded a complete scrapping of the NEET system, calling it a flawed mechanism that places undue stress on students and their families. He accused political parties of exploiting the issue for electoral gains and ruled out any compromises on the matter.
“The NEET examination system must be completely abolished. We will never make false promises using a system that severely affects students and families for vote-bank politics,” he said.
Vijay also outlined a two-pronged solution to the issue, stressing that education must first be transferred to the State List for a permanent fix. As an interim arrangement, he proposed the creation of a “Special Concurrent List” to give state governments greater autonomy over general and medical education.
“This would pave the way for states to exercise full authority. We emphasised this at the very inception of our party, during the educational awards ceremony organised by our Kazhagam,” he added.
The Chief Minister’s remarks come amid growing pressure on the Centre, with opposition parties demanding a parliamentary discussion on the alleged NEET paper leak and seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Meanwhile, student organisations, including the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, have been staging protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding accountability and systemic reforms.
