State BJP president K Annamalai sharply criticized Chief Minister MK Stalin and the ruling DMK government on Friday for failing to apply for new medical colleges within the stipulated deadline.Accusing the DMK government of negligence, Annamalai stated, “The deadline for applying to set up new medical colleges was November 26, 2023. The DMK government has callously ignored this application process for the new government medical colleges.”
Annamalai highlighted that the DMK had promised to apply for establishing new medical colleges in six districts—Mayiladuthurai, Tirupattur, Tenkasi, Perambalur, Kancheepuram, and Ranipet. However, due to the government’s failure to apply on time, Tamil Nadu has reportedly lost around 900 medical education seats.
“The DMK government has failed to apply within the given deadline, resulting in a significant loss of medical education opportunities for Tamil Nadu students,” Annamalai stated in his address. He cited the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) rule, which mandates 100 medical seats for every ten lakh population, effective from 2025. This rule underscores the necessity for timely applications to meet the educational needs of the population.
Annamalai further accused the DMK of prioritizing private medical colleges over government institutions. “The ruling DMK government has ignored the medical education opportunity for Tamil Nadu students because there is no profit for DMK if government medical colleges are established. The dream of medical education for students from marginalized and poor backgrounds has been completely shattered by DMK,” he asserted.
He contended that the DMK is more interested in starting private medical colleges, which could potentially yield profits, rather than focusing on government medical colleges that serve a broader section of society.