Published Jul 22, 2026 | 2:45 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 22, 2026 | 2:45 PM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay speaking in the state Assembly..
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday condemned the detention of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition leaders who extended support to the youth protest in Delhi against alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Calling the action “anti-democratic”, Vijay said the Union government’s response to the protest was condemnable. He also announced that TVK extends its full support to the opposition parties’ protest being held in Parliament on Wednesday against the previous day’s developments.
Reiterating TVK’s stand on NEET, Vijay said the party’s uncompromising position is that the examination should be abolished entirely. He said the party would never make false promises or use the issue for electoral gains, as the examination affects not only students but also their families.
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Vijay argued that the permanent solution is to shift education from the Concurrent List to the State List, giving states full authority over education, including medical education. If constitutional or legal hurdles prevent such a move, he proposed creating a Special Concurrent List as an interim arrangement to grant greater powers to state governments until the transition is completed.
He said TVK had consistently advocated this position since its inception and had outlined the proposal during the party’s education awards function.
The Chief Minister urged the Union government to respect the sentiments of students and the people of Tamil Nadu, insisting that the complete abolition of NEET remains the only solution to the issue.
There had been criticism from many quarters and on social media over Vijay’s silence when it came to the protests and the police action that followed.
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Others had pointed out how Vijay had not been questioned about his silence when Wangchuk went on fast despite having starred in the Tamil version of the film 3 Idiots.
The Cockroach Janta Party’s Sansad Chalo protest demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has snowballed into a major headache for the Centre after Delhi police went on the rampage against the protesting students, resorting to lathi charge and tear gas.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi condemned the police brutality that injured many students and saw one of them being admitted to the ICU. Rahul later held a sit-in protest in front of PM Modi’s residence before he was dragged out and detained on Tuesday night. Other Opposition leaders have also joined the protests on Wednesday.
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(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose.)
