Karnataka House passes resolution to scrap NEET, 3rd state after Tamil Nadu, West Bengal

BENGALURU: Karnataka Thursday became the third state - after TN and Bengal - to seek exemption from National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and return to the Common Entrance Test (CET) for medical admissions.

Both houses of the legislature passed the resolution against NEET just before they were adjourned sine die.

They also passed resolutions against the proposed 'One Nation, One Election' system and delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies based on a post-2026 census. They, instead, urged the Union govt to use population figures from the 1971 census for any delimitation exercise.

The resolutions were passed amid chaos in the assembly, with opposition members protesting the denial of debate over Muda scam. Speaker UT Khader called for voice vote in the House and ensured passage of the resolutions.

Medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil, who moved the NEET resolution, cited "repeated irregularities" in the exam and called for amendments to the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, to abolish the NEET system at the national level.

Former BJP higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayana accused the Congress of political opportunism, saying the party which introduced NEET is now opposing it for political reasons.

Not right to blame entire system: Ashwath Narayana
If there are lapses (in NEET), they could be rectified. For one mistake, you cannot blame the entire system." CN Ashwath Narayana said NEET was designed to bring uniformity among students from diverse backgrounds and regions.

Pradeep Eshwar, a Congress MLA who runs NEET coaching institutes, expressed concerns about state-specific entrance exams. "If each state has its own entrance exam, then students would need to write separate exams for each institute and state," Eshwar said, adding students might end up spending around Rs 1 lakh only to apply for all competitive institutes.

In the resolution against 'One Nation, One Election', the Congress govt said the move could undermine states' autonomy and focus predominantly on national issues, neglecting local concerns. The resolution emphasized India's federal system where free-and-fair elections are the "soul" of its democracy.

"Different legislatures have their own terms of office," the resolution stated. "Ensuring adequate security, managing election staff, voter dejection, reduced government accountability, and economic and social constraints are serious risks associated with simultaneous elections."

Senior BJP member R Ashoka said separate polls are time-consuming and divert govt machinery from development work. He quoted former president Pranab Mukherjee's view that simultaneous elections could save money and enhance development.

The third resolution was on delimitation of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies. Law and parliamentary affairs minister HK Patil said delimitation based would disproportionately increase representation for northern state.


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