As the NEET fiasco continues to rock Parliament, the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed a unanimous resolution, reiterating the demand for exemption for the state from the centralized medical entrance examination.

The resolution, moved by Chief Minister MK Stalin, also called for the eventual scrapping of the one-fit-all nationwide entrance test which has usurped state autonomy.

Citing the glaring irregularities in the recent NEET UG examination and the rising demand from various other states to do away with NEET, he said, “Tamil Nadu’s voice is the voice of the nation. Grant exemption and then scrap it is the demand of the state.”

While demanding the Union Government to accord immediate sanction to the NEET Exemption Bill, pending with the president for assent, the resolution called for necessary amendments to the National Medical Commission (NMC) in the current session of Parliament to abolish NEET.

“The NEET examination regime which severely affects the medical education opportunities of poor students from the rural hinterland, which makes school education redundant and which deprives the states of their right to admissions to state-run medical colleges should be done away with.

“Granting exemption to the state from NEET, the Union Government should immediately accord sanction to the NEET Exemption Bill, passed unanimously by this House providing for medical college admissions based on the marks obtained by candidates in their 12th standard board examination. Since the NEET system, prone to various irregularities, is being opposed by various states, the Union Government should bring in necessary amendments to the National Medical Commission to abolish NEET,” the resolution read.

The NEET Exemption Bill, passed by the state assembly in early 2022, was held up by Governor RN Ravi, who maintained that the Bill is ‘as good as dead’ if the Raj Bhavan hasn’t given assent. It resulted in a turf war between the elected DMK Government and the Raj Bhavan forcing the former to move the Supreme Court.

But, with the governor returning the Bill to the Assembly for its reconsideration after the court coming down hard on the Raj Bhavan, it was passed once again and had been forwarded for presidential assent. Now, the ball is in the Centre’s court.