CHENNAI: The ruling DMK and its allies, including Congress and Left parties, are set to stage a ‘massive protest’ in Chennai on Tuesday to condemn the BJP-led Union government. The protest is in response to the lack of fund allocation to Tamil Nadu, particularly under Samagra Shiksha, and remarks made by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
On Saturday, Pradhan stated that the Centre would release funds to Tamil Nadu only if the state fully adopts the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, including the controversial three-language policy.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Monday, Pradhan dismissed the strong opposition to NEP in Tamil Nadu as “politics.” He argued that the NEP does not impose Hindi or any other language on students in Tamil Nadu but promotes multilingual education, including Tamil, English, and other Indian languages. “There is no imposition of Hindi,” he said, adding that the Indian government is committed to implementing NEP with certain conditions.
In response, Dr. Ezhilan Naganathan, DMK MLA and secretary of the party’s doctors’ wing, criticized the NEP’s drafting process as politically motivated for excluding Tamil Nadu’s perspective. He stated that the imposition of the three-language policy was also politically driven.
The protest is scheduled to take place in front of the Chennai Collector’s office on Tuesday afternoon. Key participants will include Minister Duraimurugan, Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani, TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, and leaders of Left parties, VCK, and other allies.
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Stand
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin firmly stated that Tamil Nadu will never accept the three-language policy. He criticized the Union government for withholding education funds, calling it a cruel action against the state.
Clarification on PM Shri Schools
DMK Rajya Sabha MP M M Abdullah addressed AIADMK’s claims that the DMK government initially supported the establishment of PM Shri schools. He clarified in a post on ‘X’ that the state had only constituted a panel to discuss the matter, not made a formal commitment.
