Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the Council of Ministers will not take part in the events in the Raj Bhavan on Thursday evening, opposing the delay on the part of Governor R.N. Ravi in forwarding the Bill seeking exemption from NEET to the President, Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu said here.
The Governor’s action has “forced us into this situation,” the Minister said after calling on the Governor in the Raj Bhavan.
Speaking to reporters here along with Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, Mr. Thennarasu said it was unfortunate that the Governor had not considered the collective sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu, the dreams of aspiring students from rural areas to pursue medical education and the dignity of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
“The Governor has not given both of us any guarantee over the Bill or given us any time-frame for the same,” Mr. Thennarasu said and further pointed out that other legislations adopted by the Assembly too were pending before the Governor for long. “The Governor has not given any assurances over these bills as well or given us any time frame.”
Asked whether the decision to boycott the events in the Raj Bhavan was conveyed to the Governor, Mr. Thennarasu said: “The Governor listened to us but he did not give us any guarantee.”
Though the Assembly adopted the Bill unanimously and the Governor gave an assurance to the Chief Minister in person, the Bill seeking an exemption from the ambit of NEET had not been forwarded so far, the Minister pointed out. “The Governor’s action has forced us into this situation,” he reiterated.
Replying to various queries, Mr. Thennarasu said the Chief Minister would decide on the next course of action. Some of the allies of the DMK-led alliance had already announced their decision to boycott the events in the Raj Bhavan which include the unveiling of the statue of Mahakavi Bharathiyar and ‘At Home’ reception on the occasion of Tamil New Year celebrations.
