Thursday, July 18, 2019

Ready for special Assembly session on NEET, says CM

CHENNAI, JULY 18, 2019 00:00 IST



DMK leader M.K. Stalin emerging from the Assembly on Wednesday.

‘No point drafting another resolution without knowing why Bills were rejected’

Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday said a special Assembly session could be convened if the Centre does not respond to the Tamil Nadu government’s request for clarification on the reasons for the President’s decision to reject the two Bills seeking exemption from NEET for the State.

Responding to Opposition leader M.K. Stalin, who urged the State government to adopt another resolution seeking exemption from NEET and send it to the Centre, the Chief Minister said there was no point in passing a resolution without knowing the reasons [behind the rejection of the Bills], since nothing could be done if the Centre decides to reject such a resolution again.

“A solution could be found only if we find out the reasons behind the rejections and make appropriate amendments to the resolution to be adopted in the House,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said the President had withheld assent for the Bills under Article 201 of the Constitution, and that it would amount to rejection. “It was rejected on September 22, 2017, and the message has been conveyed to the Madras High Court. Another resolution should have been sent within six months, but the State government has not done anything for the last 21 months. I openly allege that you have failed to use the powers of the Assembly that reflects the sentiments of 7.5 crore people,” he said.

Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam said the State government had sent 12 reminders to the Centre, seeking to know the reasons behind the rejection of the Bills, so that the issues could be rectified. He said though the “Legislature could pass the Bills again with or without any amendment and present them again to the President for consideration”, the Centre had not explained the reasons for the rejection of the Bills so far.

‘Issue raised with PM’

When Mr. Stalin alleged that the Chief Minister had failed to bring pressure to bear on the Centre on the subject despite having met Prime Minister Narendra Modi many times, Mr. Palaniswami said he had indeed brought the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister, and the memorandum submitted to him had also included the issue of exemption from NEET.

“We have been telling the Prime Minister that NEET should not be conducted in Tamil Nadu since it has affected the poor and students from rural areas. The press release issued to the media clearly conveyed the issue,” he said.

Mr. Shanmugam said senior counsels were appearing in the case on behalf of the State, and the T.N. government will approach the court for relief after sending one more reminder to the Centre.

Another resolution should have been  sent within six months, but the government has not done anything for the last 21 months

M.K. Stalin

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