Tamil Nadu anti-NEET protests persist after education minister's resignation

Following Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, student and left‑linked groups in Chennai continued demonstrations demanding the abolition of the National Eligibility‑cum‑Entrance Test (NEET). Around 500 members of the Tamil Nadu Student Youth Federation, joined by parties including the MDMK, DMK, SDPI and others, staged a rally in Egmore and a public meeting, calling for the scrapping of NEET, dissolution of the National Testing Agency, and a judicial probe into alleged irregularities.

Parallel gatherings were held by the All India Students’ Federation and All India Youth Federation in Saidapet, where about 30 protesters were briefly detained before being released. Protest leader Manirathinam, brother of the late NEET aspirant Anitha, urged the state government to provide a permanent venue for the anti‑NEET movement and reiterated that the campaign would continue until the exam is withdrawn.