A day after the suicide of Dalit girl Anitha, Tamil nationalist outfit Tamilar Katchi staged a protest in Chennai, demanding the scrapping of NEET medical exam.
Student activists from left-wing parties also held a similar protest crying, “the state has failed us”.
A large number of people gathered at her home and Kuzhumur, near Senthurai, where he body has been kept to pay respects. From Rajinikanth to AIADMK leaders, her suicide drew the attention of celebrities and politicians.
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth took to Twitter to convey his condolences.
Dhanush also expressed sadness over the unfortunate death of the bright student.
Kamal Hassan rained his fury on the state government, accusing them of failing in its fight for the people. “Do these ministers have time to fight for the people?” he asked.
The Indian Express quoted Tamil Film Producer’s Council, Vishal as saying:
I came to know that sister Anitha has committed suicide, and I was shocked and hurt. She was the girl who went to court so that other students wouldn’t be affected like her. When I read about her in a weekly magazine, I was proud. But today, she has left me hurt. Politicians who think people will take whatever happens or they will forget it, should learn their lessons.
Vishal pleaded other students who couldn’t crack NEET like Anitha, to not resort to the same path taken by Anitha.
AIADMK Strikes the Wrong Chord
However, AIADMK’s joint secretary (IT wing) Hari Prabhakaran struck an insensitive note, when he asked who sponsored Anitha’s flight expenses to Delhi. He deleted the tweet later, after facing scathing criticism and posted tweets showing solidarity with her instead.
On Friday, Anitha, the daughter of a Dalit daily wage labourer, committed suicide after not being able to crack NEET. She had scored 1,176 out of 1,200 marks in her class 12 exams, which was enough to get her into government medical colleges. But she scored a mere 86 out of 700 in the NEET exams since she couldn’t afford the coaching classes.
On 22 August, the Supreme Court made NEET mandatory for Tamil Nadu, even though the state had sought a one-year exemption from the common medical entrance, arguing that CBSE students would get an unfair advantage.
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