Allow us to retain PG medical seats for in-service doctors: Tamil Nadu to Centre
CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday wrote a letter to his union counterpart J P Nadda requesting his personal intervention to ensure all the 50% superspeciality seats earmarked for in-service candidates under the state quota are retained and made available in round 2 of state-level NEET-SS counselling.
The letter follows reports that 145 of the 215 seats reserved for in-service candidates, who had qualified for the quota by serving in government-run hospitals for a specific number of years, that were not taken in round 1 counselling have been surrendered to the All India Quota (AIQ) since the Union government did not give approval or schedule for the state to conduct its second round of counselling.
However, Subramanian said it has come to the notice of the government that 'the process of surrendering the unfilled in-service seats to the All-India quota is being considered, without conducting the mandatory second round of counselling at the state level'.
He said such a move would effectively deprive in-service candidates in Tamil Nadu of their rightful opportunity to upgrade or participate in the subsequent round of counselling.
He said this would be contrary to the spirit and intent of the order of the Supreme Court, based on which the 50% reservation has been implemented in the state.
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