'Each Day Of Delay Costs Invaluable Human Lives': TN CM Stalin Urges Prez Murmu To Clear Anti-NEET Bill

TN NEET Suicides: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin in a letter to the President highlighted the "unfortunate consequences" of the delay in the assent to the state's Anti-NEET bill.

File Photo of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin with President Droupadi Murmu. ( Image Source :Twitter/@CMOTamilnadu )

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday urged President Droupadi Murmu to accord her assent to the state's anti-NEET Bill at the earliest stating that 16 students in the state have died by suicide over The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET). Stalin pointed to the back-to-back suicide deaths of a son and his father on August 12 and 13 respectively as in a letter to the President, he highlighted the "unfortunate consequences" due to the delay in the assent to the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021.

"With this, the toll of students who have died by suicide due to NEET has increased to 16 in our State. These tragedies could have been definitely avoided if our Bill for exemption from NEET had been given assent and the medical admissions done on the basis of +2 marks," Stalin wrote in his letter to President Murmu, as quoted by news agency PTI.

#NEET எனும் கொடிய துயரத்தை ஒழிக்க நாம் மேற்கொள்ளும் பல்வேறு முயற்சிகளில் மாண்புமிகு குடியரசுத் தலைவர் திருமதி. திரவுபதி முர்மு அவர்களுக்கு எழுதியுள்ள இந்தக் கடிதமும் ஒன்று!#NEET-ஐ ஒழிக்கும் வரை நாம் ஓயமாட்டோம்!

This letter to Hon'ble President Tmt. Droupadi Murmu is one among… pic.twitter.com/8A8VK7cT3g

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) August 14, 2023

"Each day of delay in its implementation costs not only valuable medical seats to deserving students but invaluable human lives to our society. I, therefore, solicit your immediate intervention in he matter and urge you to accord assent at the earliest to the above Bill passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly," he stated.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister provided a background to the legislative process referring to the Justice A K Rajan Committee which studied the NEET-based admission process and its adverse impact on poor and rural students. Based on the committee report and discussion, the Bill was passed on September 13, 2021, Stalin said.

After five months of delay, it was returned by TN Governor R N Ravi and reintroduced in the assembly on February 8, 2022 where it was passed again after reconsideration and sent again to the Governor for reserving it for the President's consideration.

"The Governor forwarded the Bill to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and it has been pending President's assent. When the Home Ministry sought clarifications vis-à-vis the Bill, it was expeditiously made by the state government," Stalin said.

Now, the TN Bill is till awaiting assent while the students have been "forced to undergo the NEET based admission process," he added.

"This has caused immense anxiety and stress in the minds of the students and parents. As a result, there have been various sad incidents of students or their parents ending their lives, depressed by their failure to get admission to medical courses through NEET," the Chief Minister remarked.

According to Stalin, Tamil Nadu's anti-NEET Bill is the outcome of legislative consensus, stemming from the "collective will of the people" of the state.

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