CM Vijay calls the detention of Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders during anti-NEET protests "undemocratic," and reiterates TVK's demand for the exam's complete abolition.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday condemned the detention of Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, during anti-NEET protests in New Delhi, calling the action "undemocratic." Gandhi, along with several other opposition leaders, was briefly detained on Tuesday after a sit-in protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence over alleged irregularities in the NEET medical entrance examination. He has since been released.
In a statement posted on X in Tamil, Vijay wrote that the arrest of several leaders — including Gandhi — who had stepped forward to support protesting students in Delhi was undemocratic, describing the Union Government's actions as condemnable. He announced that TVK would extend full support to the protest being held that day by opposition parties within the Parliament complex, in response to the previous day's developments.
Vijay reiterated TVK's long-standing, uncompromising position that NEET should be completely scrapped, arguing that the examination places undue stress on students and their families and has been marred by paper leaks and irregularities. He went further than a simple abolition demand, outlining a two-step structural proposal: transferring education from the Concurrent List to the State List, or, as an interim measure, creating a "Special Concurrent List" that would give states full authority over general and medical education.
Without naming the DMK directly, Vijay's statement also appeared to draw a contrast with rival parties on the issue, saying TVK would not "make false promises" on scrapping the exam for electoral gain. Separately, DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin also renewed his own call for NEET's abolition the same day. From the Centre, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was open to a parliamentary discussion on the NEET paper leak issue.
Vijay's intervention comes just a day after Chennai saw its own NEET-related flashpoint, when rapper Therukkural Arivu was briefly detained during an anti-NEET protest outside the Tamil Nadu Secretariat before being invited to meet the Chief Minister directly. Taken together, the two episodes reflect an escalating national conversation around NEET, student protests, and how governments — both state and central — are responding to them.
NEET Rahul Gandhi Education Policy CM Vijay July 22, 2026