more-in Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar on Tuesday told the Assembly that there was still a chance to secure a favourable decision from the High Court on implementing the Government Order allotting 85% of the medical seats in Tamil Nadu to State board students and 15% for CBSE students. Responding to Opposition leader M.K. Stalin’s allegation that the advocate who appeared on behalf of the State government during a recent hearing had failed to convince the court about the vast difference between the syllabuses followed by State board and CBSE students, the Minister argued that the Advocate General (AG) had argued the case for half a day although he was not well. Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam “Nothing has come to an end. A single judge has stayed the order and we have filed an appeal. There is still a chance to get a favourable order. Efficient and senior lawyers will argue the case. Moreover, the Chief Minister has directed me to go to New Delhi, along with the Health Secretary, to exert pressure on the Centre regarding NEET,” he said. “The government had consulted legal experts before issuing the order as it wanted to ensure that the order didn’t result in the dilution of the two Bills [seeking exemption from NEET] adopted in the Assembly, which are awaiting the presidential nod,” the Minister explained. “Even though CBSE students constitute just 5% of those who appeared for NEET, the government allotted an additional 10% seats to them to dissuade them from going to court,” he said. Mr. Vijaya Baskar also claimed that the Supreme Court had refused to stay the case and directed the High Court to dispose of it because the State government had roped in well-known lawyers like Nageswara Rao and P.P. Rao. He also rejected Mr. Stalin’s allegation that the State government had not brought adequate pressure to bear on the Centre to secure the presidential nod for the Bills seeking to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET, saying Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple occasions. “Some leaders are politicising the issue and using it as a subject for their daily statements. But we are fighting with a committed heart,” he said. ‘Leverage VP poll’ The DMK on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Assembly, expressing dissatisfaction with Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar’s response to its suggestion that the State government should use the vice-presidential polls to bring pressure to bear on the Centre on finding a solution to the NEET issue. Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin, who raised the issue in the Assembly, said that the State government could not rely on the High Court to resolve this matter. “The government should have utilised the presidential election to secure the [presidential] nod for the Bills passed in the Assembly seeking exemption for the State from NEET. The students as well as their parents will not forgive the State and the Centre for betraying them. The government should at least use the vice-presidential election to further this cause and make amends for its failure,” he said. DMK deputy leader Duraimurugan said that the State government, in its effort to secure the exemption from NEET, should have adopted a method similar to the one it used to get the nod for conducting jallikattu. “It [the State government] is fully responsible for the stalemate and should quit, owning responsibility,” he said. Rejecting the parallels between NEET and jallikattu, Mr. Vijay Baskar argued that while the former was a nation-wide issue, the latter was confined to Tamil Nadu.

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