Oppn parties protest TN Guv's decision to return NEET Bill

New Delhi: Members of Parliament from opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), staged a walkout from Rajya Sabha on Friday in protest against Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi's move to return the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Exemption Bill. They demanded a roll-back of the decision.

DMK leaders insisted on discussing the issue on the floor of the House, but Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu refused. Similarly, the Lower House witnessed a protest from the lawmakers of opposition parties and they walked out during the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address on Thursday.

Tamil Nadu MPs belonging to DMK and Congress had a verbal spat with members of the treasury benches. They further entered the well raising slogans against the governor's action.

The Tamil Nadu assembly passed the bill to scrap the NEET in September, enabling admissions to MBBS and BDS based on class XII marks after an aspirant died by suicide a day before his third attempt to clear the exam. Ravi returned the bill on Thursday, saying the bill is against the interests of students from poor and rural backgrounds.

DMK Member of Parliament Trichy Siva said Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin met Ravi twice and urged him to send the bill to the Central government.

At the same time, the TMC MPs also groused in the name of Dhankar. Veteran Trinamool member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy alleged that many files are pending for the Governor's approval. However, Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu refused to discuss the matter.

Meanwhile, TMC parliamentarians have raised the issue of the removal of Governor Dhankar in various ways. Senior Lok Sabha members Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Saugata Roy raised the matter. Where Bandyopadhyay urged the President of India Ram Nath Kovind to remove him from the Governor's post, Roy informed the Prime Minister. If the Centre does not respond, the ruling party of West Bengal has announced a larger protest during the ongoing Parliament session.