Slammed by court, Tamil Nadu govt apes Telangana

Slammed by court, Tamil Nadu govt apes Telangana

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.06.2020

The Madras high court coming down heavily on the state government for risking the lives of several lakh students coupled with public pressure compelled chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to retract from his stand to hold Class X examinations. Finally, he toed the line of his Telangana counterpart and announced cancellation of the board examinations on Tuesday.

In the process, EPS saved himself from an adverse court order and protests from the opposition parties, which would have damaged his image irreparably. Inquiries reveal that many of his senior colleagues advised him to cancel the examinations and declare all pass, fearing that holding exams would amount to risking the lives of students. But EPS endorsed the stand of school education minister KA Sengottaiyan and postponed the exams and rescheduled them twice since March. The exams were to commence just days before the lockdown was clamped across the country. “There is no denial that it is a set back to the government for not being firm in our stand. If he had not cancelled, there would have been discomfiture by way of court orders in the coming days,” said a senior minister, seeking anonymity.

Apparently, Palaniswami on Tuesday held talks with school education minister – who was still seeking postponement of examinations --ahead of making a televised speech to the people, prioritising the requests of the parents, pattern of virus spread and the safety of students. The decision to not postpone, even as the court told the government to consider postponement, was taken because experts have been saying that the pandemic is yet to peak in Chennai. Projections are that in July and August the infection could increase and Chennai alone could see two lakh cases. The advocate general had maintained in the court on Monday that it would be difficult to hold exams later, if it is not held now.

The government had prepared itself to move the Supreme Court and hold the examinations as it viewed the issue from a political angle all through. It was not willing to give any leeway to the opposition parties and their demands to cancel the exams. But the ruling party felt it was on a sticky wicket when its own allies like the PMK turned hostile. DMDK leader Vijayakant condemned the government its delayed decision. The PMK, which favoured postponement until Monday, demanded cancellation later. “We believe in democracy and respect the sentiments of the people. We have postponed earlier but the situation now warrants cancellation of exams,” senior minister D Jayakumar said.

EPS saves himself from an adverse court order and protests from the opposition parties, which would have damaged his image irreparably