Tamil Nadu BJP Demands Apology from Deputy CM Over NEET Promise

Chennai — The Tamil Nadu BJP has demanded an unconditional apology from Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for allegedly breaking a promise to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

BJP state secretary S.G. Suryah accused Stalin of “shamelessly lying” to Tamil Nadu voters during the 2021 Assembly election campaign. Suryah said Stalin had assured voters that abolishing NEET would be the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government’s top priority.

“Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin made a promise to the people of Tamil Nadu that his first signature as a minister would abolish NEET. However, he has failed to deliver on that promise,” Suryah said in a statement Sunday. He demanded Stalin apologize unconditionally for what he called a blatant “U-turn” on the issue.

Suryah stated the central government has no role in implementing NEET, as the Supreme Court directed.

Suryah welcomed recent criticism of the DMK government’s stance on NEET by actor-turned-politician Vijay, president of the Tamilaga Vettai Kazhagam (TVK). Vijay accused the DMK of deceiving the public with false promises in a Saturday social media post. He noted that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has admitted that only the Union government can scrap NEET.

Vijay further criticized the DMK for making promises they knew they couldn’t keep, solely to garner votes. He asked, “How long will they deceive us in our own country?” The TVK leader highlighted the significance of NEET as a campaign issue in 2021, saying, “The DMK promised to cancel the exam, claiming they had a plan to do so. Now they admit only the central government can abolish NEET. Isn’t this a betrayal of the people who voted for them?”

Chief Minister Stalin, in a statement to the Tamil Nadu Assembly Friday, acknowledged that only the central government has the authority to abolish NEET. He said NEET would have been abolished if the INDIA alliance had secured power at the center. However, Stalin reminded Opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami that NEET was introduced during Palaniswami’s previous tenure as chief minister and that NEET was not in place during the regimes of M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa.

Suryah reiterated that any attempts to remove NEET should be directed at the Supreme Court, not the central government.