Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay used his first Southern Zonal Council meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to press two politically significant demands — a NEET exemption for Tamil Nadu and safeguards for the South’s share of parliamentary representation during the proposed delimitation exercise.
Vijay, who also heads the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), raised the two issues that have been central to Tamil Nadu’s political discourse while seeking closer coordination among southern states on drug abuse, coastal security and the blue economy.
NEET Exemption For Tamil Nadu
Vijay asked the Centre to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET, saying the national medical entrance examination disadvantages students from rural and economically weaker backgrounds. Sources said he sought permission for Tamil Nadu to conduct admissions to MBBS, BDS and AYUSH courses on the basis of Class 12 marks rather than NEET scores.
Tamil Nadu has opposed NEET for nearly a decade, arguing that the exam undermines the state’s existing model of expanding access to medical education through school-level performance. Vijay has also previously demanded that education be shifted from the Concurrent List to the State List, giving states greater control over education policy.
Vijay’s Delimitation Demand
The second major issue was the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. Vijay expressed concern that a population-based exercise could reduce the collective political influence of southern states, which have achieved lower population growth through decades of family-planning and development policies.
He argued that states should not lose parliamentary representation for successfully meeting national population-control goals. “The southern states have been at the forefront of population stabilisation, human development, and economic growth,” Vijay said, according to sources.
He called for a legislative guarantee that no state’s percentage share of representation in Parliament would decline because of its success in stabilising its population. “Public policy must not inadvertently penalise states for fulfilling national objectives,” he said.
Southern states have long opposed any delimitation formula that could significantly alter the balance of parliamentary representation in favour of states with higher population growth.
Vijay’s intervention placed both NEET and delimitation firmly on the agenda of his first major interaction with the Centre as Tamil Nadu chief minister.
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