Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday accused Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of "blackmail" for allegedly taking a stand that Tamil Nadu would not be provided funds till such time it accepted the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three language formula.
Tagging a video clip of Pradhan speaking to reporters in Varanasi on February 15, Stalin, in a post on 'X' quoted Pradhan as saying that Tamil Nadu has to come to the terms of the Indian Constitution and that the three-language policy is the rule of law.
Accusing Pradhan of "blackmail" for his alleged stand that Tamil Nadu would not be provided education-related funds by the Centre till such time the state accepted the three-language policy, the Chief Minister termed it as unacceptable, and Tamil people would not tolerate it.
The state sought its due, from the Centre which is its right and if the central minister spoke arrogantly as if the state claimed his personal wealth, then, in that case, Delhi would have to witness the trait of the Tamil people, the CM said.
Further, Stalin wanted Pradhan to specify the constitutional provision that made mandatory the three-language policy of English, the respective regional language and Hindi.
States constitute the Indian union and education is on the concurrent list of the Constitution and hence, the union government cannot claim it to be their exclusive domain, the CM added.
Reacting, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai asked why children in state government schools should not be taught Tamil, English and another Indian language when children or grandchildren of the chief minister and ministers could be taught three languages in private schools.
Annamalai claimed that in a majority of the private schools run by those belonging to the DMK across the state, the Central Board of Secondary Education's three-language system is followed.
In a social media post, he wanted to know if the chief minister is of the view that only students in private schools should learn several languages. He wondered why the students of government-run schools should be treated in a "partial" manner. "Is it fair to impose on Tamil Nadu children, your (DMK) policy of the 1960s, which has no relevance today ? he asked.
Pradhan had alleged "political motivation" as the reason for the DMK regime not agreeing to the NEP. "They have to accept the NEP in letter and spirit," he had said.
On Saturday, Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi appealed to Pradhan to not play "politics" in education but release Rs 2,152 crore to the state. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K Selvaperunthagai, condemning Pradhan for his "arrogance," had said that the people would teach the BJP government at the Centre a lesson.
