Chennai: Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal lashed out at the Congress on National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) saying the Congress wanted to scrap the screening test to deny an opportunity for the poor students to pursue a medical career. The Minister who was in Chennai on Friday ruled out scrapping the test and said his BJP would convince its allies, especially the AIADMK, on the issue.
"I do not think NEET should be scrapped. We will talk to AIADMK and convince them," he told reporters here. Responding to a query on AIADMK poll manifesto assuring temporary exemption for Tamil Nadu students from NEET, Goyal who is incharge of Tamil Nadu BJP affairs, pointed out that AIADMK had requested that NEET should be held in Tamil language. This was accepted by the Centre and being implemented.
The ruling AIADMK in its manifesto has promised to get exemption for the State students from NEET till such time they were able to cope with the improved new syllabus.
The opposition DMK has promised to scrap NEET while its ally the Congress assured to take measures to dispense with NEET examination and substitute it with a State-level examination of equivalent standard approved by the competent authority for admission to medical colleges in the State.
His party had accepted the Tamil people's demand that NEET should be conducted in the regional language, and was implementing it accordingly, the Minister said and accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of attempting to reintroduce an old system where the management of medical colleges collect huge capitation fees and offer seats to the rich.
"The people of Tamil Nadu want medical seats to be offered on the basis of merit.. poor children should also get an opportunity to pursue medical education," Goyal said and added that Congress wanted to remove NEET so that the poor do not take up medical education. "They are working for capitalists so that the rich get admission," he said.
The controversial NEET has become a key poll issue in Tamil Nadu for the April 18 general elections and all the political parties want the test to be dispensed with.
