BJP leaders differ over NEET quota bill in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu BJP education wing secretary Nandhakumar has written to Governor Banwarilal Purohit urging him not to give assent to the legislation recommending 7.5 % horizontal reservation for the students of the government school who clear NEET exams. In the letter, Nandhakumar has said that any law amended should be equally beneficial to all the students, and with this in view the Governor should reject the legislation moved by the Tamil Nadu government to grant reservation only for the government school students. This has come in a sharp contrast to many of state BJP leaders expressing their support for the reservation for the government students, which the bill waiting for the Governor’s assent recommends. BJP state vice president Annamalai, on Monday, tweeted in support of the 7.5 % horizontal reservation for the students from the government school who clear NEET exams. In his tweet, he urged the Tamil Nadu Governor to “immediately give his nod for the 7.5% reservation for the rural students and to alleviate the uncertainty that’s in the mind of the students. This is a very important one and it cannot be delayed any further.” Similarly, BJP TN general secretary KT Raghavan also supported the quota stating that the Governor should immediately give assent for the legislation. Even the State BJP president also urged the Governor to give assent for the reservation legislation that was unanimously passed in the State assembly. Meanwhile, state school education minister Sengottaiyan said soon the historic decision of granting 7.5% reservation for the government school students will be a reality. On BJP leaders supporting the bill, he said, “None of the leaders who spoke in support of the students have done anything so far and no state government in the country has done this what the AIADMK Government has done.” MK Stalin asked the government, “Who pressured the AIADMK to settle for 7.5% reservation for the government school students when the committee constituted by the State proposed 10% as a horizontal reservation for the government school students”.