Kollywood actor Suriya has joined the galaxy of film personalities to raise his voice in support of Anitha, a 17-year-old medical aspirant, who committed suicide reportedly after she was not able to secure a medical seat, and against NEET.

His statement published in a Tamil daily begins with how Agaram Foundation, run by him, helps children from various backgrounds receive higher education. “Since last ten years Agaram foundation has been helping students get educated. Around 50,000 applications from government school students have been reviewed by us and 1,943 students, who took Agaram’s help, are now in colleges. Among them, 49 are studying medicine,”he said.

The statement goes on to say, “Forcing down something on us saying ‘One nation and One exam’ is violence.”He also explains how NEET is a modern form of discrimination and underscores the necessity of equality in education.

Suriya is not the only person to have taken an anti-NEET stand in the Tamil cinema industry. Actor Kamal Hassan has been vocal on Anitha issue. “It is not that I will open up only when a Sruthi or a Akshara (his daughters) is affected, Anitha too is my daughter,”he told mediapersons recently.

Filmmaker Pa Ranjith led the ‘Urimai Enthal’ programme held at Loyola College in Chennai in which artistes Vijay Sethupathi, Dinesh, Samuthirakani and Kalaiarasan and filmmakers Mysskin, Balaji Shakthivel, Vetrimaaran, Magizh Thirumeni, Suseenthran and Vijay Kumar took part.

Filmmaker Vetri Maran, who took part in a demonstration on Tuesday told the media that the silence of the authorities has to be broken immediately.

Directors Ameer and Karu Palaniappan too have sought justice for Anitha, daughter of a daily-wager, and spoken about the implications NEET would have on the poor students.