Chennai: Urging Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit to give immediate assent to the Bill providing 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students in UG medical courses, Opposition DMK president M K Stalin has said his party is ready for a joint agitation with the ruling AIADMK to protect the State’s rights.
In a tweet, tagging a letter written to the Governor on the issue, Stalin said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami should consult the leaders of all parties and come out with an announcement on the nature of agitation and when and where it would be held.
Noting that as the issue involved the rights of the Tamilnadu Assembly, which had unanimously passed the Bill to provide 7.5 per cent quota and forwarded the same to the Governor for his assent, Stalin said it was not proper for Purohit to be indifferent or delay the decision in giving his assent.
In his letter to Purohit, the leader of the Opposition said based on the recommendations of Justice P Kalaiarasan committee, the “Tamilnadu Admission to Undergraduate Courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy on preferential basis to the students of the Government Schools Bill, 2020” to provide horizontal reservation of 7.5 per cent in NEET examination for government school students was passed on 15 September unanimously in the Assembly and sent to the Governor for his assent.
He said in the light of announcement of NEET results the government school students could benefit from the reservation in this academic year itself, only if the assent for 7.5 per cent horizontal reservation Bill was given immediately, without further delay.
“Therefore, on behalf of the DMK, I urge you to immediately give assent to the bill and help fulfilment of the dream of government school students to an extent to pursue medicine as their profession”, Stalin said.
It may be noted that a delegation of Ministers called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan yesterday and urged him to give his assent to the Bill so that counselling for medical admissions could commence.
Talking to reporters after an hour long meeting, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the Governor was ‘examining’ the Bill from various angles and would soon give his assent.
“We are confident that he will come out with a favourable decision on the matter”, he added. He said the team of Ministers impressed upon the Governor the need for him giving his assent early to the quota Bill.
Apart from the State being a ‘land of social justice’, he said the horizontal quota would enable more government school students to pursue medical courses.