Clarifications sought from Tamil Nadu govt on NEET Bill: Centre

The Centre has thrown the controversial NEET Exemption Bill ‘ball’ back in the Tamil Nadu government’s court, it was revealed on Tuesday, July 19. Interestingly, this is the first time the Union government has openly acknowledged that the Bill is under active consideration. 

The Union Home Ministry has written to the Tamil Nadu government, seeking explanations on comments submitted by the Union Health and AYUSH ministries on the contents of the Bill, seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from the NEET medical entrance exam. 

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The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021 was forwarded to the President by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on May 2, and is under consideration now. This information was revealed by Ajay Kumar Mishra, Minister of State for Home, in a written reply tabled in Parliament. 

The junior minister’s reply was in response to a question raised in Lok Sabha by the MP from Madurai, S Venkatesan.

Comments sent in June

The comments submitted by the Health Ministry were forwarded to the Tamil Nadu government on June 21 while those of the AYUSH Ministry were sent on June 26, Mishra said in his written reply. The Home Ministry, being the nodal agency, coordinates with Central government departments and state governments to prepare inputs for the President to take a call on Bills sent for assent.

 “Bills reserved by the Governors for consideration and assent of the President are processed in this ministry in consultation with the nodal Central ministries/departments. Accordingly, the consultation process with nodal Central ministries/departments concerned with the Bill was initiated. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Ministry of AYUSH furnished their ‘comments’ on the Bill which have been shared with the government of Tamil Nadu on 21.06.2022 and 27.06.2022, respectively, for their comments/clarifications,” said Mishra. 

Now, the Tamil Nadu government has to convey its views on the comments of the two Central ministries, emphasising its case for speedy presidential assent to the NEET Exemption Bill. 

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Second salvo

The legislation under consideration now is the second NEET Exemption Bill approved by the Tamil Nadu Assembly after MK Stalin took over as the Chief Minister. The first was returned to the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker by Governor Ravi in February, stating that it goes against the interests of students from rural areas. The rejection led to a massive political uproar and the DMK even demanded the recall of the Governor, blaming him for blocking the decisions of the State government.

Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu Assembly approved the second NEET Bill that is under consideration now and the state government pushed hard to get it forwarded for Presidential assent. 

The Bill “was received in the Ministry on 02.05.2022″, Mishra said in his reply. The development comes just days after lakhs of aspirants all over the country faced the NEET entrance exam for the forthcoming academic session.

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Venkatesan, who belongs to the CPI, had also asked the Union government to stipulate a time-frame for the NEET Exemption Bill’s approval. Mishra said in his reply that no deadline can be indicated due to detailed consultations involved in the process. 

“The consultation process in such cases takes time and therefore no fixed time can be prescribed for such approval,” the reply tabled in Lok Sabha said. This indicates that the Tamil Nadu government may have to mount further pressure to get a speedy decision on the keenly-watched Bill that is considered a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu politics.

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