Chennai:
The BJP in Tamil Nadu has decided to push for a three-language policy with a door-to-door campaign, escalating the ongoing row over what the ruling DMK has called the “imposition” of Hindi. The campaign will begin from March 1, the BJP has said.
The Centre’s three-language policy has never been accepted in Tamil Nadu since the days of former Chief Minister CN Annadurai. The state has been following a two-language policy, teaching students Tamil and English.
But the matter escalated as Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan made it clear that Tamil Nadu will not receive funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme unless it fully implements the National Education Policy 2020.
The minister alleged that the opposition to the policy – which includes three languages — was politically motivated. He also questioned why Tamil Nadu remains the only state resisting NEP while the rest of the country has adopted it.
Chief Minister MK Stalin accused the minister of “blackmail” and vowed that the Tamil people would not accept such coercion.
The BJP now says the DMK’s opposition to the Centre’s three-language policy is a direct violation of the Constitutional principles.