The Tamil Nadu government on Monday made the final effort in seeking an exemption for the state's students from the common nation-wide medical entrance test - National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET), with its representatives taking up the issue with Union ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh. Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, accompanied by Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, met Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and Minister of State at the Prime Minister's Office, Singh.

An official release recalled a series of meetings by Tamil Nadu ministers, including Chief Minister K Palaniswami, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his other colleagues on the issue in the last few days. "Following these, as a final effort, Vijayabaskar met Nadda and Singh to pressure them for an exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET," the release said. The Minister was accompanied by Radhakrishnan, it added.

Tamil Nadu has been seeking exemption from NEET, saying that it would affect the students from the state. In February, the assembly had passed two bills seeking to pave the way for the continuation of undergraduate medical admissions on the basis of Class 12 marks, exempting Tamil Nadu from the ambit of NEET. The rival AIADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma faction, led by former chief minister O Panneerselvam, had also met Modi on the same issue.