The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore on Saturday (July 11, 2026) said his party’s priority was to prevent any further casualties due to National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for UG Medical admissions through intensive campaign, free of politics and with a humanitarian approach.

Questioning the silence of former Chief Ministers over the deaths of students due to NEET, the TNCC president quipped that unlike them (DMK president M.K. Stalin and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami), the Congress, upholding the ideals of Kamaraj, had no reason to fear the Directorate of Enforcement, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Income Tax Department.

The BJP government at the Centre, Mr. Manickam pointed out, was supportive of the NEET coaching industry with deep pockets without any concern for the deaths of 37 students so far in Tamil Nadu since the inception of the exam.

The leak of NEET question papers was noticeable only in the BJP-ruled States. As leader of the Opposition in Parliament, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has mandated functionaries in all States with the responsibility of exposing the NEET coaching industry scam and render justice to the affected students, Mr. Manickam said, during his anti-NEET campaign attended by party workers.

The TNCC president said he would call on parents of medical aspirants who had ended their lives and offer them the party’s financial compensation, as a gesture of solidarity.

Referring to crackdown on corruption by the TVK Government, Mr. Manickam contended that the era of “corrupt” Dravidian parties was passe and that the time was right for the Congress party to usher in “Kamaraj era honesty”.

The Congress would commence its State-wide signature campaign against corruption on July 15, coinciding with the birth anniversary celebration of Kamaraj.

Published - July 11, 2026 09:14 pm IST