New Delhi [India], March 12 : Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Wednesday slammed the Union Government on the issue of the three-language policy. He stated that Tamil Nadu is well served on two language formula, i.e, English and Tamil and that making the "third language" compulsory is "completely unacceptable."
"Tamil Nadu is very clear and well served the two-language formula - English and Tamil. English connects us with the world of commerce and science, and Tamil preserves our culture and identity. If anyone wants to learn a third language, it is of their own accord. There is no reason to make it compulsory. To thrust a third language on us would be completely unacceptable, and the Union government must be flexible in implementing its policies," he said.
Congress MP Jebi Mather said, "BJP should realise that the language issue is a sensitive emotional matter... Anything that hurts people's sentiments should not be promoted... Dharmendra Pradhan is unnecessarily causing division in the society... We in the opposition stand for unity, and that is why we walked out of Parliament yesterday... BJP has hidden agendas in the NEP (National Education Policy)..."
Earlier, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the Union Education Minister lashed out at the opposition for claiming that the government wants to divide society by using languages and said that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never use language to do such a "sin."
"There are certain things going on; let me first clarify in my Odia society. Lord Jagannath is everybody. The king of Puri is not a king but a philosopher kind of person. He is a living deity to everyone. My king married to the Queen of Kanchi. My mother is from Tamil Nadu. I am the son of a Tamil Nadu lady. Another House yesterday. In my society, mothers and sisters are above everything. If I hurt anybody if any of my words, I beg an apology. PM Modi has always mentioned that the Tamil language is an ancient language. The Tamil language is nobody's monopoly. We are committed to the Tamil language. Truth is always painful," Pradhan said in the Rajya Sabha.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also lashed out at Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over its opposition to the three-language policy, accusing the Stalin government of creating a "political mess" in Tamil Nadu and denying children their "right to learn."
Speaking in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, "The New Education Policy actually says learn in your mother tongue until class 5th, if possible till 8th, even better till intermediate. That's what the NEP says, but they (DMK) want to imagine it is imposing Hindi."
"Wrongly they have created political mess in Tamil Nadu denying children their right to learn." Sitharaman backed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's Monday's remark, clarifying that the minister "probably" meant the protest of DMK is "uncivilised"