Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Union Government over the alleged imposition of Hindi under the National Education Policy (NEP), following a statement by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that only Marathi is compulsory in schools in his state.
In a strongly-worded message on social media, Stalin said: "Facing a massive backlash for imposing Hindi as the third language, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis now claims that only Marathi is compulsory in the state. This is a clear manifestation of his trepidation over the widespread public condemnation against imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States."
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister posed a series of pointed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, demanding clarity on the Centre’s official position regarding the language policy under NEP.
“Does the Union Government officially endorse his (Fadnavis) position that no language other than Marathi is compulsory in Maharashtra as the third language under NEP?” Stalin asked.
He further questioned whether the Union Government would issue a clear directive to all states affirming that NEP does not mandate the compulsory teaching of a third language.
Stalin used the occasion and demanded the release of Rs 2,152 crore in central education funds withheld for Tamil Nadu for not implementing the three-language formula.
The DMK has consistently opposed the imposition of Hindi and the NEP's three-language policy, advocating for the state's two-language formula that emphasizes Tamil and English.
