Saurabh Mukherjee
Amid fresh controversy following the cancellation of the national medical entrance examination, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday (May 13) renewed his demand for the complete abolition of NEET-based admissions, arguing that repeated irregularities had exposed deep flaws in the system.
His statement came after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3 across 5,432 centres nationwide, where more than 22 lakh students had appeared, including about 1.4 lakh candidates from Tamil Nadu.
Reacting to the development, Vijay said, “This cancellation has shattered the hopes of lakhs of medical aspirants across the country,” while stressing that controversies surrounding the exam were recurring rather than isolated incidents.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested five persons and carried out searches at multiple locations as part of an investigation into the alleged paper leak linked to the examination.
Referring to the 2024 paper leak episode, he noted that FIRs had been registered across six states and that the Supreme Court of India had directed the Union government to constitute a high-level committee led by former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Radhakrishnan, which later submitted 95 recommendations.
“Within two years, another paper leak has occurred and the examination has been cancelled,” Vijay said.
“This is conclusive proof of flaws and structural flaws in a national level exam,” he added.
Reiterating Tamil Nadu’s longstanding opposition to NEET, the Chief Minister argued that the examination disadvantages students from rural regions, government schools, Tamil-medium institutions and economically weaker backgrounds.
He said the current system increasingly favours those who can afford expensive coaching and urban educational advantages.
“The government of Tamil Nadu reiterates the state’s long pending demand to abolish NEET and permit the states to fill all seats under the state quota in MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH courses on the basis of class 12 marks,” Vijay wrote in his statement.
Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed NEET since its introduction, maintaining that admissions to medical education should rely on Class 12 performance rather than a centralised competitive examination.
Vijay, who had campaigned against NEET even before assuming office, once again urged the Union government to restore states’ authority over admissions, calling for a permanent policy shift in favour of state-based selection mechanisms.
His statement came after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3 across 5,432 centres nationwide, where more than 22 lakh students had appeared, including about 1.4 lakh candidates from Tamil Nadu.
Reacting to the development, Vijay said, “This cancellation has shattered the hopes of lakhs of medical aspirants across the country,” while stressing that controversies surrounding the exam were recurring rather than isolated incidents.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested five persons and carried out searches at multiple locations as part of an investigation into the alleged paper leak linked to the examination.
Referring to the 2024 paper leak episode, he noted that FIRs had been registered across six states and that the Supreme Court of India had directed the Union government to constitute a high-level committee led by former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Radhakrishnan, which later submitted 95 recommendations.
“Within two years, another paper leak has occurred and the examination has been cancelled,” Vijay said.
“This is conclusive proof of flaws and structural flaws in a national level exam,” he added.
Reiterating Tamil Nadu’s longstanding opposition to NEET, the Chief Minister argued that the examination disadvantages students from rural regions, government schools, Tamil-medium institutions and economically weaker backgrounds.
He said the current system increasingly favours those who can afford expensive coaching and urban educational advantages.
“The government of Tamil Nadu reiterates the state’s long pending demand to abolish NEET and permit the states to fill all seats under the state quota in MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH courses on the basis of class 12 marks,” Vijay wrote in his statement.
Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed NEET since its introduction, maintaining that admissions to medical education should rely on Class 12 performance rather than a centralised competitive examination.
Vijay, who had campaigned against NEET even before assuming office, once again urged the Union government to restore states’ authority over admissions, calling for a permanent policy shift in favour of state-based selection mechanisms.
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