Chennai: An all-party resolution led by the state govt seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and allocation of a public hall/venue for a peaceful stir are among the key demands raised by ban-NEET protestors in the city, as their hunger strike enters day 7 without an end in sight.Organised on the heels of the recent anti/fair-NEET protests in Jantar Mantar and across the country, members of Anti-NEET Federation — a collective of students’ and youth organisations and social workers — who have been protesting at Tiruvallur Illam in Koyambedu said that they were not for ‘fair NEET’, but rather for a blanket ban on the test.Four of the members — Jeeva, Pulianthope Mohan, Dhanasekar and Ravi — have been on a hunger strike since last Saturday, and the rest of the members have been engaged in a peaceful protest. Ravi was hospitalised on Thursday for coughing up blood. His condition is stable now.“There is no resolution in sight. School education minister Rajmohan had briefly stopped by 5 days ago and said he would talk to the CM for a resolution against NEET. But nothing has happened since,” said A Peranbu, a student protester.Protestors said that no leader from any major political party had met them yet. “We will call off the hunger strike if a resolution is passed. That’s the first step. Then, we need an alternative location to carry on with our protest against the exam,” said S Manirathinam, brother of S Anitha, a medical aspirant who ended her life in 2017 over the exam.Human rights activist Thirumurgan Gandhi, who met the protestors on hunger strike, said it was unethical for Union govt to burden students with a coaching-driven exam like NEET. “The state merely mentioned its stand during the budget presentation on Wednesday. While the powers rest with the centre, the state must pass a resolution, stating its stand explicitly. The govt must be in solidarity with students and show more attention to this ongoing protest,” he added.Former legislator CK Tamilarasan said the centre must not conduct a common exam when education and syllabi were non-uniform across the country. “The only people who benefit out of NEET are the elite and coaching centres,” he added.
