Will AIADMK seek NEET exemption as pre-condition for its alliance with BJP, asks CM MK Stalin
Chennai, Apr 21 (PTI): Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday asked Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami if the AIADMK would tell the BJP that scrapping NEET is a pre-condition for it to continue in the NDA.
Stalin’s attack on Palaniswami in the Assembly came after the opposition leader criticised the DMK-Congress regime for the NEET's introduction in the state. "Now you have got the right opportunity to address that problem," Stalin said and demanded to know if the AIADMK would say that it would stay back in the BJP-led NDA only if the current NEET exam system is scrapped.
"Will it say that it will snap ties if this was not done? and that is the question," he said.
Palaniswami said the DMK gave an assurance to people that it would scrap NEET ahead of the 2021 polls and the AIADMK made efforts to stop the test, which was launched during the Congress-DMK regime at the Centre.
The LoP, referring to the Supreme Court verdict on NEET wondered whether anything could be done in contravention of that judgment and asserted that only the top court could review its ruling.
The chief minister said it was true that the DMK gave an assurance to the people on cancelling NEET in the state.
He said: "We are not denying that. We would have fulfilled our promise for sure had our alliance (INDIA bloc) captured power at the Centre. Now, you have formed an alliance; will you put forward this rider (seeking ending NEET in Tamil Nadu) for continuance of the alliance and that is the question."
Palaniswami, the top AIADMK leader during his speech said there was nothing wrong in his party aligning with the BJP when the DMK stitched an alliance with the Congress party which was blamed for MISA incarcerations during the Emergency (1975-77). Also, he wondered with whom the DMK aligned in 1999.
When Palaniswami said the DMK deceived the people and formed the government in 2021, Stalin said: "We did not come to power by deceiving the people. Two months ago you said AIADMK will not be in the BJP alliance even in 2026 and 2031 polls too. Now you have joined them; why this drama and to deceive whom this drama?
Transport Minister SS Sivasankar said a "deal" had been struck between the AIADMK and the BJP over NEET and accordingly, 11 medical colleges were sanctioned by the Centre for Tamil Nadu during the AIADMK regime for allowing NEET.
The heated debate over NEET involving the ruling benches and the main opposition party happened when AIADMK's A Govindasamy spoke in the House by taking part in the Demand for Grants for Health and Family Welfare Department for 2025-26.
Speaking to reporters outside the House, Palaniswami reiterated that the national medical test was introduced by the DMK and the AIADMK took all steps to stop it.
Palaniswami said his party may align with any political party and the chief minister questioning the alliance with BJP showed that he was afraid of a regime change, a win for the AIADMK-led alliance in the 2026 Assembly polls.
Tamil Nadu has an annual admission capacity of 11,700 MBBS seats including 5,050 seats in government medical colleges, 4,453 postgraduate seats, of which 2,294 seats are in government medical colleges.
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Fire breaks out at garments showroom in south Mumbai; eight rescued
Mumbai (PTI): A fire broke out at a garments showroom on the ground floor of a residential building in the Peddar Road area of south Mumbai on Monday morning, civic officials said.
While there were no reports of injuries in the blaze, eight people and some pets were rescued from the six-storey building, they said.
Officials said the fire erupted around 6:38 am at the showroom on the ground floor of the Shukhshanti building.
The fire brigade rescued eight people from the first floor and five animals from the fourth floor of the building.
A civic official said the blaze was confined to the wiring, electrical installations, and the stock of clothes in the showroom, and the establishment was engulfed in smoke.
He said eight fire engines and other fire brigade vehicles were at the scene.
The official said the blaze was covered from all sides around 8:15 am, and the fire-fighting operations were underway.
The police, civic authorities, and other agencies were mobilised, he said, adding that the cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained.
As the building is on the busy Peddar Road, the south-bound traffic from the Mahalaxmi Temple junction to the Kemps Corner flyover had slowed down, the traffic police informed in a post on X.
