The father of 17-year-old medical aspirant S Anitha, who committed suicide in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district on Friday, said she had studied for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test under extreme circumstances. “What did she do wrong? Who will answer for her suicide,” he asked, ANI reported on Saturday.

The state government had on Friday announced compensation of Rs 7 lakh to Anitha’s kin and a government job for a member from her family. Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami also expressed his condolences over her death.

Anitha, the daughter of a Dalit daily wage labourer, had scored 1,176 out of 1,200 in her Class 12 examinations under the Tamil Nadu state board, but had secured only 86 out of 720 in the Neet. She had approached the Supreme Court against Neet, arguing that the entrance test would harm the aspirations of students from rural Tamil Nadu.

Protests in Chennai

On Saturday, members of the Students’ Federation of India protested on Chennai’s Anna Salai, while the Revolutionary Students and Youth Front carried out demonstrations in other parts of the city. Police have detained some protestors, ANI reported.
Naam Tamilar Katchi members demanded that Neet must be scrapped, after paying tribute to her. Regional media reported that students affiliated to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam also staged protests in Chennai and some other parts of the state.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Chief Thol Thirumavalavan blamed the government for her death, and said Anitha did not commit suicide but she had waged war against the state and Central governments.

On Friday, actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan had also reacted to the death. While Rajinikanth said it was an “extremely unfortunate” incident, Haasan had said, “We must forget which political party we belong to and fight for her”.

Anitha had managed to get an engineering seat at the Madras Institute of Technology, but she had let it go as she wanted to become a doctor. On August 22, the Supreme Court had dismissed her petition, along with those filed by several other students. The Centre, which had earlier passed an Ordinance in this regard, had later said that the rules of the Neet cannot be changed just for one state.

The Neet controversy

Medical college admissions across India are done on the basis of Neet scores. However, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Tamil Nadu government has been opposing the examination. They have been asking for reservation to protect the interests of students from Tamil Nadu.

The state first resisted the introduction of Neet because it said the Central Board of Secondary Education-based exam would harm the admission prospects of students from the state board. Then, after the results of this year’s exam were declared on June 23, the state reserved 85% seats for these students and ordered a separate merit list. On July 14, the Madras High Court had struck this order down.

The central board’s students, who had challenged this in court, had argued that it is “discriminating [against] students solely on the basis of their school board”.