Chennai, Sep 21 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Union government for lowering the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) cut off to zero.

Condemning the decision as "meaningless", Stalin said it was detrimental to the merit based admission process.

Taking to social media platform, ‘X’, he said, "By reducing the NEET PG cut off to Zero, they are accepting that eligibility in National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test is meaningless. It is just about coaching centres and paying for the exam. No more qualification is required."

He further said, "NEET =0. NEET has nothing to do with merit , which we have been saying all along. It has been a mere formality , devoid of any real eligibility criteria."

The Chief Minister said that the Union BJP government remained heartless despite so many precious lives being lost and has now come up with an order like this. The BJP government must be removed just for causing loss of
lives with the guillotine called #NEET.

M.K. Stalin's son and Tamil Nadu minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Udhayanidhi Stalin also took to social media platform, 'X' and came out strongly against the Union government reducing the NEET percentile criteria for PG Medical admissions to Zero.

Udhayanidhi in the post said that the stand taken by the Union government has once again proved what his party DMK has been speaking about and added that NEET is an arrangement to make coaching centres and private medical
colleges prosperous.

He also said that the Union government will have to answer questions on NEET injustice and the deaths of several poor students who had committed suicide in not clearing NEET.

It may be noted that the Tamil Nadu government had passed two bills in the state Legislative Assembly against NEET and the bills are for assent with the President of India. The state government has been at logger heads with the Central government over NEET and has pointed out the death of many students by suicide after not being able to clear the entrance test.