Film personalities, lawyers join NEET protests

CHENNAI: Protests against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) gathered steam across the state on Tuesday with processions and candlelight marches condemning the central and state governments and paying tribute to medical aspirant

Anitha

who committed suicide last week.

Film personalities including director Vetrimaran and music composer G V Prakash Kumar expressed solidarity with the protesters in Chennai and and demanded the scrapping of NEET.

Students of Loyola College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Nandanam Arts College, Thyagaraya College and Kandasamy College carried out protests in Chennai. “When there is no uniform syllabus, there is no meaning in conducting a common entrance across the country for medical admissions,” said Raghini, a protestor. “We do not want more such incidents like Anitha’s death,” said a protester from Thyagaraya College.

The Marina was cordoned off on Tuesday too by police, anticipating mass gathering of students to stage protests. Police personnel barricaded the service lane of Kamarajar Salai off the Marina. While families visiting the beach were let in, others were frisked before getting past the barricades. A government press release said 183 people including 33 women were arrested for staging protests and let off in the evening in Chennai.

In Coimbatore, students from various colleges formed a human chain to protest against the Union and state governments for thrusting NEET on students. A section of advocates from Coimbatore Bar Association (CBA) staged a road roko near the district collectorate and raised slogans against Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman. CBA members also boycotted court proceedings.

Police detained six college students in Trichy for attempting to burn copies of the amended Indian Medical Council Act 2016 and Dentists Act 2016, which provided constitutional status for NEET. There were protests by students and political outfits in Madurai and other towns in south Tamil Nadu too.