TN Governor Ravi prepares ground for fresh row with ‘I will never give clearance to anti-NEET Bill’ statement

During the interaction, one Ammasiappan Ramasamy sought to know when the Governor would clear the pending anti-NEET Bill. Ramasamy, employed with the Salem Steel Plant, was in the Raj Bhavan with his daughter who had secured the 879th rank in the entrance test.

“I am telling you frankly, I will never give clearance to NEET (Bill), let it be very clear. Anyway, it has gone to the President because it is a subject of the Concurrent List. It is a subject to which only the President is competent to give clearance to (sic). Given to me, I shall never give it. Be sure about it,” he asserted.

Ramasamy pointed out that the state has several top-class doctors who achieved excellence without clearing NEET.

“What you have achieved will not survive for the future. What you have achieved will no longer be sufficient. It is like a cycle race,” Ravi responded.

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Ravi bats for CBSE syllabus

When Ramasamy said that a lot of parents were unable to find the money for NEET coaching, Ravi replied that several students cleared the exam without attending coaching classes.

“I want our children to grow. I tell you for sure that there are many students who are doing it without coaching. The schools are doing the job. I don’t think students who are going to any coaching institutions can clear the NEET. It’s a myth. A myth that has been spread,” was the Governor’s refrain.

Ravi added, “Whatever is there in the CBSE book, nothing beyond is needed. Many students, I have seen cleared it, cleared it well without going to coaching institutions. The book they have prescribed — the CBSE book — is of a high standard.”

CBSE has a “very good syllabus and NEET is not beyond that”, Ravi contended.

Related: Gov meets AG, Union law minister amid tussle with Stalin govt

‘Medical seats were sold before NEET’

Governor Ravi alleged that medical admissions in Tamil Nadu were a ₹1,000 crore business before NEET as several private medical colleges were run by influential people. “It was all out corruption, making money and these colleges collected ₹1 crore for each seat,” he said.

Further, Ravi alleged that the politicians in Tamil Nadu have created a fear psychosis among students regarding NEET. The private medical colleges’ lobby has been spreading rumours that there was a problem with NEET.

“Let there not be any confusion, NEET is going to stay in the country. I want my children to be competitive, to be the best in the country,” he added.

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DMK reacts

Reacting sharply to the statement of Governor Ravi, DMK Students’ Wing President Rajiv Gandhi said that within 10 months Ravi would become a former Governor

நீட் தேர்விற்கு நான் ‘ஒருபோதும்’தடை கொடுக்க மாட்டேன்!"
-தமிழ்நாடு ஆளுநர் ஆர்.என்.ரவி

இன்னும் 10 மாதத்தில் தமிழ்நாட்டின் முன்னாள் ஆளுநர் ஆர்.என்.ரவி கருத்து என்று வரும் செய்தி வரும்!

அதுவரை உங்களின் ஆனவபோக்கு தொடரட்டும் மேதகு ஆளுநர் அவர்களை!!

— R.Rajiv Gandhi ✨ (@rajiv_dmk) August 12, 2023

“It is a constitutional post valid only for five years and it is expected from the Governor. The statements of the Governor show that he does not know the ground reality or read newspapers. If he says that there is corruption prevailing in private medical colleges, let the Union government take action against those colleges,” he said.

Also read: New spat in TN as DMK reacts to Gov Ravi’s ‘Bill is dead’ comment

Concern over sale of meat near temple

NEET was not the only controversial statement by the Governor this week. On Friday, Ravi said he was “saddened” over the lack of adequate toilets and the sale of meat and non-vegetarian food in the close vicinity of the famous Sri Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai.

Ravi, who undertook a two-day visit to the district, went around many places and met various sections of the civil society.

He also did “Girivalam” — going around the hill on foot, covering about 14 km.

“I was saddened to see the absence of adequate toilets and the presence of shops and restaurants selling meat and non-vegetarian food along the holy Girivalam and in the close vicinity of the holy Arunachaleswarar temple,” the Governor said.

“Devotees shared their pain. While I do believe that food is entirely a personal choice and it must be so, we must be respectful to the sentiments of millions of devotees of Lord Arunachaleswarar,” he said in a statement.

Ravi said he had met among others, students, organic farmers, tribal, cultural, and religious leaders, during his visit.

“First-hand experience of their aspirations and anxieties were quite insightful,” he said.

He also lauded a social organisation for imparting education to children in the tribal areas of Jawadhu Hills.