The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by Tamil Nadu BJP General Secretary Karu Nagarajan, challenging the state government's decision to form a committee to study the impact of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on the socially disadvantaged students of the state. The ruling DMK had last month constituted the panel, headed by retired judge AK Rajan.
The High Court said setting up of the committee does not pose any challenge to the centre's right to fix the standard of higher education in the country.
Earlier this month, the centre in its response to the petition said the Justice Ranjan panel has no right to decide on NEET. It is an exercise in futility as the Supreme Court of India has upheld the validity of the medical exam, it said.
The High Court order said setting up of the commission can not be seen as contrary to any Supreme Court order, or to any legislative action taken by the centre.
The commission may come up with suggestions to persuade the centre to make NEET more inclusive for students from economically or socially weaker sections, the court observed.
Almost all Tamil Nadu parties, including the ruling DMK, BJP's ally and opposition AIADMK, are on the same page when it comes to NEET. They have been demanding that the test be scrapped.
Chief Minister MK Stalin in June wrote to PM Modi, requesting that Tamil Nadu be exempted from the exam and be allowed to fill MBBS seats using Class 12 results. The AIADMK had also made similar suggestions.
