Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has hit headlines on Thursday - February 3 after returning the anti-NEET bill passed by the DMK government to repeal the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test in the state. It has been five months since the bill was passed in the assembly and sent to the Governor for his consent. After the episodes of demands and protests urging him to pass the bill, he has now returned the bill, which has shocked the government. 

Governor RN Ravi has returned the bill to the assembly for reconsideration. An official statement from Raj Bhavan, the Governor's Office, has said that after a detailed study, the Governor has found that the bill is against the interests of the students, especially rural and economically poor students of the state. Following the shocking rejection, the DMK has said that it will send the bill back to the Governor again, pressing him to review the study done by former judge AK Rajan committee. 

The statement from the Raj Bhavan said, "The Hon'ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, after a detailed study of the L.A. (Legislative Assembly) Bill No. 43 of 2021 for admission to undergraduate medical courses seeking exemption from NEET, and the report of the high-level committee constituted by the state government in this regard which is the basis for the bill and also examining the pre-NEET status of social justice in medical admission especially for students coming from socially and economically poor background, is of the opinion that the Bill is against interests of the students especially the rural and economically poor students of the state." 

The statement further read, "Hence, the Hon'ble Governor has returned the Bill to the Hon'ble Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on February 01, 2022, giving detailed reasons, for its reconsideration by the House. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Christian Medical College, Vellore Association Vs. Union of India (2020) also has comprehensively examined the issue especially from the Social Justice perspective and upheld NEET as it prevents economic exploitation of poor students and is in furtherance of social justice." 

Repealing the NEET from the state has been one of the poll promises of the DMK government and the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill in September 2021, which aims to relinquish the requirement of NEET for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses and the bill was formulated with the measure of admitting the students based on the marks they had obtained in the Class 12 examination. 

It has been reported that as the Governor has refused to give his consent and sent the bill back to the court of the assembly, the legislative assembly can either modify the bill or pass the same Bill again and sent it back to the Governor. The reports say that a Governor can't veto the bill if it is sent for the second time after being passed overwhelmingly in the assembly. If he gives his nod for the Bill in the future, it will be sent to the President for his consent. 

As RN Ravi has failed to act on the bill earlier, the DMK had staunchly condemned him and the all-party delegation led by DMK MP TR Baalu had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and urged him to take appropriate measures to ensure the President's consent. Last month, the ruling DMK has demanded the Governor to resign as he has failed to give his consent to the anti-NEET Bill. Chief Minister MK Stalin has earlier said that NEET affected the dreams and aspirations of the rural and poor students in pursuing medical courses. 

As the Governor has sent back the Bill, the DMK government is working out the plan to resend it again. Reacting to the development, senior lawyer and DMK MP in Rajya Sabha, P Wilson has said to a news channel that the government will send the Bill again to the Governor. Senior ADMK leader CV Shanmugam has asked the government to modify the Bill and sent it back to the Governor. On the other hand, after knowing that the Governor has returned the Bill, the MPs of DMK, Congress, and Communist parties had staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha and urged to take back the Governor.