Chennai: The Tamil Nadu BJP has demanded an unconditional apology from Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for allegedly reneging on his promise to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

BJP state secretary S.G. Suryah accused Udhayanidhi Stalin of "shamelessly lying" to the people of Tamil Nadu during the 2021 Assembly election campaign. He stated that Udhayanidhi had assured voters that abolishing NEET would be the DMK government's priority.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Suryah said, "Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin made a promise to the people of Tamil Nadu that his first signature as a minister would abolish NEET. However, he has failed to deliver on that promise."

The BJP leader called for an unconditional apology from Udhayanidhi for what he termed a blatant "U-turn" on the issue. He also clarified that the central government has no role in implementing NEET, as it is a directive of the Supreme Court. Suryah welcomed a recent statement by Vijay, actor-turned-politician and president of the Tamilaga Vettai Kazhagam (TVK), who criticised the DMK government for failing to abolish NEET.

In a social media post on Saturday, Vijay accused the DMK of deceiving the people with false promises. He pointed out that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has now admitted that only the Union government has the authority to scrap NEET. Vijay said, "This is a significant social and political issue for Tamil Nadu. During the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK promised to abolish NEET if returned to power. However, they knew fully well that this decision could only be taken by the central government."

Vijay further alleged that the DMK made these assurances purely to garner votes and criticized the ruling party for not fulfilling its promises after coming to power. He said, "How long will they deceive us in our own country?" The TVK leader also highlighted that NEET was a major campaign issue in 2021. "The DMK promised to cancel the exam, claiming they had a plan to do so. Now they admit only the central government can abolish NEET. Isn't this a betrayal of the people who voted for them?" Vijay remarked.

In a statement on Friday, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin told the Tamil Nadu Assembly that NEET would have been abolished if the INDIA alliance had captured power at the Centre. However, he acknowledged that only the Central government has the authority to scrap the exam.

CM Stalin also reminded Opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami that during the regimes of Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, NEET was not there. He argued that the exam was introduced only during the tenure of Palaniswami's government. S.G. Suryah further stated, "If anyone wants to get away from NEET, they should approach the Supreme Court, not the Central government."

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