Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 2 : Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday sounded a strong warning against the central government's alleged attempts to impose Hindi on the state. He declared that Tamil Nadu would never accept the New Education Policy (NEP) and Hindi imposition in any form.
Stalin emphasised that the state's Chief Minister, MK Stalin, has made it clear that Tamil Nadu rejects the NEP, delimitation, and Hindi imposition. He accused the central government of trying to "impose Hindi sideways" and through the NEP.
"The Tamil Nadu CM is the person who has brought the Metro Railway project to Chennai. The CM said three things recently: we don't accept NEP, we won't accept delimitation, and we won't accept Hindi imposition. Today, the central is trying to impose the Hindi language sideways. Centre is directly trying to impose Hindi through the New Education Policy. Tamil Nadu will never accept the New Education Policy and Hindi imposition in any manner. We (DMK) are not feared by Central Government threats because the current regime is DMK, not AIADMK. The current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is MK Stalin, not Edappadi Palaniswami (AIADMK Chief and Former CM)...," said Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reiterated on Sunday the importance of promoting Indian languages through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Speaking in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, Pradhan emphasised that all Indian languages have equal rights and should be taught uniformly. He clarified that the NEP's three-language policy doesn't impose Hindi as the sole language, contrary to concerns raised by some in Tamil Nadu.
"National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 should give importance to Indian languages... All Indian languages have equal rights, and all should be taught in the same way. This is the objective of the NEP. Some people in Tamil Nadu are opposing it for political purposes. We have not said anywhere in the NEP that only Hindi will be taught...," said Pradhan.
The Tamil Nadu government has strongly opposed implementing the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, raising concern over the "three-language formula" and alleging that the Centre wants to 'impose' Hindi.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin urged the people to "rise" to defend the state in a fight against the delimitation of constituencies and the three-language policy.
Stalin criticised the three-language policy, saying that it had resulted in the centre withholding the state's funds and that delimitation would now 'affect' the state's representation.
"Their three-language policy has already resulted in the withholding of our rightful funds. Likewise, while they claim they will not reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats, they are unwilling to assure that the representation of other states will not be disproportionately increased. Our demand is clear - do not determine parliamentary constituencies based on population alone...We will never compromise on Tamil Nadu's welfare and future for anyone or anything...Tamil Nadu will resist! Tamil Nadu will prevail," Stalin said.