TN polls: Jaya raises stakes, promises to scrap medical entrance exam
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is leaving no stone unturned to ensure her party storms back into power. The AIADMK supremo on Thursday announced that her government would do away with the medical entrance exam if her party emerges victorious in the upcoming assembly elections.
Jayalalithaa made the announcement at a campaign rally in Chennai and said she would enact a law that would make it mandatory for medical colleges to give students admission based on their Class 12th board results.
Her promise is in defiance of the Supreme Court order passed earlier this week, which ruled that all admissions for undergraduate medical and dental courses for the academic year 2016-17 will have to be made only on the basis of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test.
Read: Supreme Court makes it only Neet for MBBS, dental seats
But Tamil Nadu among other states has been against the order and senior officials from the state had camped in the national capital to find ways to appeal against the top court's order.
AIADMK in its manifesto promised a whole range of freebies and populists measures, capturing the attention of both national and international media. The staggering amount of freebies include 100 units of power free every two months, mopeds and scooters at half the price for women, waiver of all cooperative farm loans, reimbursement of education loans for unemployed youth.
The list just does not end as the manifesto also promises free cell phones and free breakfast for students in government schools, free laptops with internet facility for Class X and Plus Two students, one sovereign gold for brides, Rs 500 Pongal gift coupons for all ration card holders and free wi-fi in public places.
Read: DMK-Cong combine is coalition of loot: Jayalalithaa
Jayalalithaa’s party was the last to unveil its election manifesto, but it came with the latest googly of goodies — a repeat of almost all that the main opponent DMK has offered in its manifesto and much more to woo the women and the young voters, who form 25 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s electorate.
The chief minister was scheduled to do a whirlwind campaign in 10 constituencies of Tirunelveli district on Thursday.
The sudden election campaign in the capital comes amidst claims by DMK leaders that their party would sweep the polls in the city in the coming Assembly elections.
