Firing his first salvo against the BJP, Tamil actor Vijay, who had recently floated his political outfit ‘Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam’ (TVK), on Wednesday demanded that the NEET examination for medical education be scrapped and Tamil Nadu given an exemption from it.

“NEET has severely affected the backward, most backward, Dalit and other downtrodden communities. How can students who have studied in the state syllabus in their mother tongue compete with those who have had their education under the NCERT? It should go and the Union government should accord sanction to the Bill passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, pending presidential assent,” he said, speaking at the second and final leg of felicitation for board examination toppers, organized by his party.

Invited along with their parents, each student was given cash rewards and certificates by the actor.

“The irregularities that have come up in the recent NEET examination has demolished the credibility of NEET. The only solution is to scrap NEET. And I wholeheartedly support the Bill passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly seeking exemption from NEET. The Union government should accord sanction to the Bill,” he maintained adding, “the one-nation-one education system is antithetical to the very idea of education. Each state should have the right to have its own policy. Diversity is strength and not weakness. States should have full freedom in this domain.”

According to him, the way forward and lasting solution is to bring education back to the State List.

“Before 1975, education was in the State List. It was only then, it was taken to the Concurrent List, paving the way for the Union Government to sneak in. It is against the right of the states. If necessary, a special concurrent list should be created through a constitutional amendment for health and education,” said the actor, who made it clear that this would not be allowed by vested interests.

This is the first time the South actor with political ambition had made a political speech, targeting the BJP.

With a huge fan following, mostly youth and students, Vijay launched the TVK in February this year with its focus on the 2026 assembly poll and had opted out of the Lok Sabha election.

While the DMK has welcomed Vijay’s stand on NEET, the BJP said that Vijay should also understand the background of NEET.

DMK Organising Secretary RS Bharathi said, “actor Vijay has supported the TN Bill, seeking exemption from NEET and called for the scrapping of NEET. We welcome it.” On the other hand, BJP leader Karu Nagarajan said NEET was brought by the Congress and the DMK. “NEET had helped many government school students to get enrolled in medical colleges, which was not the case earlier,” he claimed.