Tamil Nadu rejects NEP, PM-Shri scheme and Hindi imposition: Minister Anbil Mahesh

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government will not bow to the hegemony of the Union government, said State School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi at the DMK-led INDIA bloc's protest against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent statement here. He had stated that funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme would not be released for Tamil Nadu unless the state fully implemented the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Slamming the union government for its alleged attempt to coerce states into adopting the NEP and its components, Mahesh said, "We reject the National Education Policy (NEP), the PM-Shri scheme, and Hindi imposition."

The Centre and the Tamil Nadu government have been at loggerheads on the implementation of the NEP and the three-language formula proposed in the policy. While the DMK has accused the Centre of taking continuous measures aimed at "Dravidian-Tamil" hate and steps to impose Hindi under the guise of the three-language policy, Union Minister Pradhan claimed they were politicizing the policy and questioned why they were resisting it when the rest of the country had adopted it.

Pradhan claimed the state had initially agreed to the Centre’s conditions but later backtracked. "They are politically motivated and not acting in the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu. They must adhere to constitutional norms and accept NEP in letter and spirit," he said while speaking at the Kashi Tamil Sangamam event in Varanasi.

Also Read: Tamils won’t yield to Centre's blackmail, Stalin tells Pradhan

Meanwhile, DMK legislator Ezhilan said the Official Language (Use for Official Purposes of the Union) Rules, 1976, exempts the state of Tamil Nadu and added that those who voluntarily seek to learn Hindi in the state may do it.

Also Read: Committed to implementing NEP across country, TN opposition political: Pradhan

(With PTI inputs)