CHENNAI: In the wake of his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis yielding to political backlash and softening his stand on trilingual policy, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday insisted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must clarify the union government's position on the National Education Policy (NEP), specifically trilingual policy.

In a message posted on his 'X' page, 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 the imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States."

"Hon'ble PM and Union Education Minister must clarify: Does the Union government officially endorse his position that no language other than Marathi is compulsory in Maharashtra as the third language under the National Education Policy? If so, will the Union government issue a clear directive to all states affirming that the NEP does not require the compulsory teaching of a third language? Will the Union government release the Rs 2,152 crore it unjustly withheld for Tamil Nadu on the premise that the State must subscribe to the teaching of a mandatory third language?" Stalin wondered, upping his ante against the BJP-led Union government on the language policy issue.