Tamil Nadu: A Neet Strategy

Loud And Clear M.K. Stalin wears a mask with anti-NEET messaging

- Amarnath K. Menon

Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin is finding it daunting to keep at least one pre-poll promise: getting an exemption for his state from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical and dental colleges. On February 1, Governor R.N. Ravi returned the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses Bill, 2021, that proposes this change. Swiftly, the DMK government, at a special session of the legislative assembly on February 8, adopted the bill afresh to put the ball back in the governor’s court.

As per the Constitution, the governor now needs to reserve the bill for consideration of the President of India, who is the assenting authority. There is no prescribed time limit, though, for the President to take a decision. “The reason why drafters of our Constitution did not specify timelines for constitutional authorities was that they believed these authorities would take quick decisions and not allow important issues to fester,” says N.R. Elango, senior advocate and DMK MP. “The 10th schedule of the Constitution does not prescribe time limits for the assembly speaker to decide on the question of disqualification [of legislators]. But the Supreme Court, in its wisdom, has prescribed three months.”