Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Tuesday criticised the detention of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and several other Opposition leaders during their protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence, describing the Centre’s action as “undemocratic.”
In a statement, Vijay said the detention of Rahul Gandhi, who had joined the protest in support of students, was unacceptable and deserved condemnation. He also announced that his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), would back the Opposition’s protest in Parliament over the developments that unfolded on Monday.
Reaffirming his party’s position on NEET, the Chief Minister said Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) remains firmly committed to the complete abolition of the medical entrance examination, arguing that it has placed a heavy burden not only on students but also on their families.
“The NEET examination must be abolished completely. We reiterate that this alone is the solution to this issue,” he said. He also asserted that the party would not resort to “false promises for vote-bank politics” on the matter.
Calling for structural reforms, Chief Minister Vijay said education should be moved back to the State List, arguing that this would provide a permanent solution to abolishing entrance examinations such as NEET.
Until such constitutional changes are made, he proposed the creation of a Special Concurrent List that would grant state governments greater authority over education, including medical admissions.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had advocated this position since the party’s inception and had already outlined both long-term and interim solutions to address the issue.
He further said the Union government should respect the concerns of students and the wider public and abolish the examination altogether.