Chennai: The newly elected Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government under Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has come under sharp criticism for its silence on the ongoing nationwide protests demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
While Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed the NEET examination for over nine years, the government is now being questioned as Vijay has not publicly extended support to the students’ movement in Delhi. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is still protesting at Jantar Mantar, has questioned the central government on paper leaks and around 20 student suicides.
Tamil Nadu has also reported NEET-related suicides since 2017. According to state government data, at least 26 such deaths were reported in the state between 2017 and 2024, either due to fear of failure, alleged irregularities or pressure to perform well in the exam.
Vijay, who repeatedly urged the public during his election campaign to oppose NEET and prioritise the interests of rural and underprivileged students, is now facing accusations of inconsistency.
The initial trigger for the criticism appeared to be a promotional video he shared Monday for his upcoming film Jana Nayagan, while remaining silent on the protests.
Moreover, Tamil Nadu rapper Arivu, who attempted to stage a protest near the Tamil Nadu secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday, demanding the abolition of the NEET examination, was detained by police. While being taken for police inquiry, Arivu asked, “When all of India is burning, why is the Chief Minister Vijay silent now? I want to meet him and talk.”
After the detention, Arivu was taken to meet Chief Minister Vijay along with TVK minister Aadhav Arjuna. However, the TVK government has not commented on the protests so far.
ThePrint reached TVK spokesperson Felix Gerald over call. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin condemned Arivu’s detention, saying, “The voices raised against NEET deserve to be heard, not silenced.”
“At a time when the CJP-led rallies and protests against NEET are gaining momentum across the country, the TVK government has chosen to arrest Arivu. This sends a troubling message to the youth of Tamil Nadu who are considering taking to the streets in solidarity with the protesting youth in Delhi to oppose NEET. NEET is not just riddled with discrepancies; it has become a scam,” he wrote on X.
Tamil Nadu’s consistent opposition to NEET
Tamil Nadu’s resistance to NEET started immediately after its introduction, with the state arguing that the centralised exam disadvantages students from rural areas, government schools, and Tamil-medium backgrounds who rely on the state board syllabus. Prior to NEET, admissions to medical courses were based primarily on Class 12 marks, a system seen as promoting social justice and equity.
The anti-NEET sentiment strengthened further when S. Anitha, a 17-year-old Dalit girl from Ariyalur district, died by suicide. In 2017, Anitha scored 1,176 out of 1,200 in her Class 12 exams, which would have secured her a medical seat under the old system. However, she failed to crack the NEET exam.
The teen, who dreamt of becoming a doctor, knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court challenging the NEET, arguing it was unfair to rural and underprivileged students.
Nine days after the Supreme Court upheld NEET, dismissing Tamil Nadu’s plea for exemption, Anitha died by suicide on 1 September 2017. Her death led to widespread protests across the state, turning her into a symbol of resistance against the exam. It added to the political discourse against NEET, with state parties except BJP demanding exemptions or abolition of NEET.
Anitha’s family rejected government compensation, emphasising systemic failures.
Language concerns in NEET for Tamil Nadu
Despite an initial increase, Tamil-medium NEET registrations have faced a relative decline in recent years. As English continues to dominate, fewer students from Tamil-medium backgrounds are opting for regional language NEET papers consistently.
While the NEET examination in Tamil saw significant growth from 17,101 candidates in 2020 to 36,333 in 2024, the number of candidates opting for the Tamil question paper peaked at 36,335 in 2024, then dropped sharply to 26,580 in 2025. In 2026, registrations increased slightly to 29,845, but remained well below the 2024 level.
The drop reflects reduced accessibility for Tamil-medium students from government and rural backgrounds, even as there is perceived dominance of English for higher opportunities, highlighting ongoing challenges in preserving linguistic diversity in competitive exams like NEET.
Criticism over silence on protests
Political analysts say that TVK’s silence is to avoid a direct confrontation with the Centre while pursuing long-term state-level solutions or prioritising other immediate issues like farmer packages and internal administration.
Political analyst Sunil Kumar told ThePrint: “TVK followed the same stance as DMK on NEET saying it opposes the exam. The TVK before elections called BJP its ideological enemy but Vijay has never called out the Centre openly on major issues. He is focused on state affairs where he is positioning TVK’s appeal as a change-maker in Tamil Nadu, but has not made any such attempts nationally. Vijay needs to present a clear stance of Tamil Nadu on NEET but he is choosing to be pragmatic about it and has not questioned BJP directly.”
Educationists and analysts ThePrint spoke to see this as a challenging time for them to express the concerns of students publicly, but added that the current education system is very disappointing and requires substantial reforms. However, the State remains in a wait and watch mode.
Career consultant and education analyst Jayaprakash Gandhi said: “Tamil Nadu is now in a wait-and-watch situation. The government may have not reacted to the protests due to multiple factors but the State has not accepted NEET all these years and wants it abolished.”
The silence of TVK is also being interpreted by some as a betrayal of pre-election promises and Tamil Nadu’s legacy of resistance, especially given Vijay’s star power and the student suicides linked to the exam. As the NEET controversy persists nationally, pressure is mounting on the TVK government to clarify its position and act on its stated opposition.
Educationist Prince Gajendra Babu called Vijay’s silence disappointing. “Throughout his election campaign, Vijay clearly projected himself as someone who would stand against NEET and for the justice of the students. Even after the elections, he maintained the stance of NEET opposition. But now he is silent when such a big movement is in place,” he said.
He further told ThePrint: “The AIADMK and DMK government both, whether in power or not, have opposed NEET and this clearly meant that the stance of Tamil Nadu was against NEET. The silence of the Chief Minister puts that in question and Vijay not saying anything on this will be seen as a betrayal by the people of Tamil Nadu. We expected him to use his popularity to make state issues matter on a national level. Vijay is not using that mass appeal for the benefit of the students.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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