Congress Slams Modi Government Over NEET and Tax Devolution in Tamil Nadu

On Wednesday, the Congress brought up problems like the "devastating impacts" of NEET in the state and the inadequate devolution of taxes from the Center, accusing the BJP of always attempting to impose its will on the people of Tamil Nadu.

Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Coimbatore rally, Congress national secretary Jairam Ramesh blasted him in a post on X and asked him important questions about the state.

"Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore will host Prime Minister Modi today. "The BJP has consistently attempted to impose its will on the people in a state that has a long history of supporting cooperative federalism," Ramesh remarked.

He said, "The Modi Sarkar's track record in TN begs the question - does PM Modi want to represent the people, or does he want to rule over them?" According to Ramesh, the BJP administration implemented the NEET test in 2017, and it was met with strong public opposition because of concerns that it will unjustly harm students from underprivileged and marginalized areas.

"These suspicions were quickly validated. Only 2% of students who passed the test in 2019 did so without taking private tutoring, according to statistics. It is almost hard for marginalized children to pass the test since coaching centers charge between 2.5 and 5 lakhs each student, the speaker claimed.

Indeed, the Congress leader said, data shows that the number of students from Tamil-medium government schools who were able to get admission to medical programs fell sharply when NEET was implemented, from 600 in 2016 (pre-NET) to only 5 in 2017, 7 in 2018, and 0 in 2019.

"Since 2017, the TN Assembly has enacted two NEET legislation that exclude students from taking the test in an effort to redress this unfairness; however, the President has not ratified either measure. The most heartbreaking aspect of this story, according to Ramesh, is that Tamil Nadu has had a number of student suicides before the test each year since it began.

He stated that the disastrous effects of NEET have been seen across Tamil Nadu and questioned why the prime minister has not even recognized the harm that his policies have created.

The state of Tamil Nadu was forced to file a Supreme Court petition last week due to the Union government's misappropriation of critically needed money for disaster assistance. Cyclone Michuang, which shook the state in December 2023 and left massive devastation and severe floods in its wake, has left Tamil Nadu reeling," he added.

Ramesh said that while the state government has already spent Rs 3,406 crore from the State Disaster Relief Fund and other state monies, it is insufficient to compensate for the significant damage caused by the storm.

States in such circumstances may apply for supplementary funding from the National Disaster Relief Fund, which was created specifically to provide support when disasters are "beyond the coping capacity of the state government," according to him.

According to him, the Tamil Nadu government had appealed to this fund twice, on December 19 of last year and January 10, respectively, for the release of Rs 18,214 crore in help.

"However, the Center has not made a decision as of more than four months later. It goes without saying that the Tamil Nadu people would suffer greatly as a result of this funding delivery delay," Ramesh said.

He questioned, "What "vendetta" does the PM have against the Tamil people to be so uncaring about their needs?"

"In2008, while serving as Gujarat's chief minister, PM Modi caused a stir with comments he made about fiscal inequity and the inadequate tax devolution from the federal government. But now that the BJP is in charge, things are different," he said.

The finance minister for Tamil Nadu made the observation in January that the state only got 29 paise for each rupee it sent to the federal government.

According to Ramesh, Tamil Nadu's share of national taxes dropped from 5.305 percent during the 12th Finance Commission to 4.079 percent under the 15th Finance Commission, despite the state's 6.124 percent population.

"This reduction in Tamil Nadu's share comes amidst the Modi Sarkar's introduction of a cess raj, evolved specifically to avoid sharing revenues with states," he said.

"Is the PM's change of heart on this issue entirely attributable to his desire for centralising power?" Ramesh said and urged Modi to speak out about these matters.