Chennai: DMK President MK Stalin, who appeared at the monsoon session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday wearing a ‘Ban NEETs, Save TN Students’ face mask, appears to have sparked a tirade against the test. of medical admission and wants it removed.
In an exclusive email interview to CNN News18, Stalin explains why his party opposes, and will continue to be, in the way of the BJP Government on many issues, such as the National Education Policy, the NEET test, and continues to condemn others. Actions. like demonetization and GST. In a scathing comment on the subject that has kept Tamil Nadu on the boil, Stalin calls the NEET the guillotine that has claimed many lives.
He also intervenes in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, commenting that the Office of Narcotics Control joins the long list of “autonomous” institutions like the CBI and the ED that have lost their way to influence the melodies of the ruling system in Delhi. . Edited excerpts:
Won’t the DMK’s opposition to the National Education Policy, revised to reflect the changed educational landscape, affect their interests?
The DMK will never get in the way of a reform to reflect the changes brought over time. In fact, it was in the Thalaivar Kalaignar government that the Samacheer education system was introduced, leading to a reduction in burden and an improvement in knowledge among students. Because of that, more students have been able to pass exams, equip themselves with the skills necessary for higher education and employment. The educational policy of the Narendra Modi government is the exact opposite.
The effective and truly improvement-focused method would be for each state to formulate its own policies, basing them on the native language of its students, their ability to understand concepts, pass rate, dropout rate, etc. But in the new educational policy, state rights have been totally denied. There is a tendency to forcibly impose other languages. In the name of industrial training, the policy destroys the infrastructure facilities and opportunities necessary for students to access higher education. Exam structures are constructed in such a way that they act as obstacles in the way of students who wish to continue their education. In regards to the DMK, we are firm in our determination to return education to the State List. It must not remain on the concurrent list. In Tamil Nadu, where the two-language policy has been in place for more than half a century, Hindi or Sanskrit should not prevail. Tamil Nadu has an infrastructure that has achieved a higher pass rate, compared to other states, in terms of school education and other higher levels. We will not allow their destruction.
You also oppose the National Cum Income Eligibility Test. Why?
Up to twelfth grade, the educational system is such that students can choose their upper secondary education subjects based on their areas of interest. In 2007, during the government of Thalaivar Kalaignar, the public access test was abolished and students were able to participate in counseling sessions at universities of engineering and medicine based on their class 12 grades in a transparent one-stop-shop system. . Many became engineers and doctors for the next 10 years because of it. In particular, the educational dreams of children in suburban and rural neighborhoods and those of oppressed communities came true. In all the families, that progress was visible. NEET, an unnecessary eligibility test, has proven to be a destroyer of such dreams and has dismantled the social justice that supports the admission of students to the government-run universities in Tamil Nadu.
From Ariyalur Anitha (who took her own life in August 2017) to Jothi Sridurga (who died on September 12, 2020), NEET has become a guillotine that has taken so many lives.
The BJP contends that DMK and other parties oppose NEET because it stands in the way of various politicians and businessmen who live off the high fees charged by private medical schools. What do you have to say about this?
This is a diversionary tactic to divert attention from the heart of the problem. On behalf of NEET, there has been a proliferation of training centers charging exorbitant fees that run into lakhs, and the BJP government has paved the way for a scenario where it is commonly understood that such training is necessary to enter studies. doctors. In this, there are several connected with the BJP. The occurrence of bad practices in examination procedures and other irregularities, facilitated through these NEET training centers, has also been exposed. In addition to that, the proportion of rural students entering government-run medical schools has also decreased. NEET is a fundamentally bad ‘kill-loot’ scheme. That is why the DMK strongly opposes him.
Does it bode well for our national interests if the DMK, the third largest party in the Lok Sabha, strongly opposes all the efforts of the Center?
Most of the schemes / plans advanced by the BJP government turn out to be partisan, alienating towards some sectors of the people and not inclusive, and that is why the DMK often opposes it, as a responsible opposition party should.
Take the case of demonetization. Prime Minister Modi had hailed it as a measure directed against terrorism and black money. To the question of how much black money has been recovered, there has been no answer. Terrorism does not appear to have been completely eliminated either. It was the poor and middle classes that suffered the brunt of demonetization. On top of all that, the Modi government’s action (demonetization) brought the people of the country to the streets in the middle of the night.
In a similar move, the introduction of the GST turned out to be a high-impact move across all industries, from small and medium-sized businesses to large companies. In fact, in one of the AIADMK government mentions in the Assembly, it was highlighted that many industries had to close their doors after the introduction of the GST system. Across the country, the situation is the same. In severe implementation, higher taxes were imposed but the Center did not distribute the collected taxes properly across the states. Because of this, several states, including Tamil Nadu, have faced a financial crisis. Getting higher taxes from developed states, failing to return a proportional amount, and letting a larger amount flow to states that collect lower taxes is a biased, uneven, and unfair approach. That is why the DMK has been opposed from the beginning. We are not in power. But, for the sake of state rights, regardless of who is in power now, the DMK is finding itself speaking out for everyone, including those in power. DMK’s voice remains as one that reflects the sentiments of all states.
That is why I wrote letters to various chief ministers of state about the allocation mechanisms in the Fifteenth Committee on Finance. By aligning with them, we will strengthen efforts toward greater return of funds to states.
By virtue of the majority enjoyed in Parliament, the BJP government has obtained the mandate of the people to run these schemes, say BJP leaders. What is your reaction to that?
Under the current Indian electoral system, the majority of seats cannot be interpreted as the unified support of all people. In the absence of unification of opposing votes, or when the votes are divided, it should be possible to easily obtain a majority. It is by this nature that the DMK has been demanding elections based on proportional representation since the time of Arignar Anna (CN Annadurai).
In the name of majority government, refusing to use that force constructively, denying welfare to states, crushing democratic values and using the majority for one’s own preferences is absolutely unconstitutional.
What is happening in Jammu and Kashmir? Is it democratic to keep duly elected government representatives under house arrest, remove special privileges granted to the state, and restrict the free movement of people? Is it democratic for a Union minister to profess ignorance of a resolution passed unanimously to “Ban the NEETs” by the ruling government and opposition parties?
Turning autonomous institutions like the IWC and the Directorate of Enforcement into the hands of the Center and bringing the Election Commission of India to such a state is democracy?
Through the NIA, labeling democratic forces as “traitors”, “urban naxals” and “anti-nationals”, is it democracy? And now, using the Office of Narcotics Control in the same vein, to settle political scores, is it a kind of democracy?
The majority should not be used as a tool to muzzle democratic dissent. Democracy is about protecting the voice of fairness and justice, as enshrined in the Indian constitution.
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