Chennai, Sept 1:
Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin questioned the Tamil Nadu government in the Assembly on Tuesday over the denial of permission for a memorial meeting marking the ninth death anniversary of medical aspirant S. Anitha.
Udhayanidhi said the Tamil Nadu Students Federation and Anitha’s family had planned to hold a peaceful memorial meeting and questioned why permission was denied. He said the government had cited the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Velankanni Church in Besant Nagar as the reason, but claimed that there was no significant crowd at the venue.
He urged the government to immediately grant permission for the meeting or provide an alternative venue. Udhayanidhi also said there was no need for him to engage in politics over Anitha’s death.
Responding to him, Minister Adhav Arjuna said permission had been denied considering law-and-order concerns and insisted that there was no political motive behind the decision. He said the government would take steps to identify a suitable alternative venue for the memorial meeting.
The issue led to a heated exchange between Udhayanidhi and the minister in the Assembly. Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar intervened and advised the minister to conclude the matter after Udhayanidhi had brought it to the government’s attention.
Anitha, a medical aspirant from Ariyalur, died by suicide in September 2017 after the Supreme Court’s verdict on NEET. Her death triggered widespread protests in Tamil Nadu against the medical entrance examination.