Hindi vs Tamil row: Union Min accuses DMK of ruining students' future, Stalin hits back

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in the Lok Sabha on Monday, criticised the Tamil Nadu government for refusing to implement the National Education Policy and doing a "U-turn" on the issue for "politics." This drew angry protests from the DMK, disrupting proceedings in the House.

"They are dishonest and ruining the future of the students of Tamil Nadu ... they are misleading the people," Pradhan said while replying to a query on the Centre not releasing funds for the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.

Hitting back, the DMK said it had clearly told the minister "we cannot accept" the NEP "in full" and the three-language formula "is not acceptable to Tamil Nadu". It said the Centre cannot stop the release of budgetry allocation for education on the issue of implementing the NEP.

Earlier in his reply, Pradhan said the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has changed its stand on implementing the centrally sponsored scheme PM SHRI, which envisaged strengthening the schools managed by central, state, or local bodies. The state concerned has to sign an MoU with the central government that it would implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and in return, the central government provides the funds.

"The Tamil Nadu government had initially agreed to sign the MoU. But now they have changed their stand. Many non-BJP-ruled states, including Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, have signed the agreement," he said.

The minister said that at one point, the government of Tamil Nadu had agreed to the PM SHRI scheme, and several (DMK) MPs who came to see him conveyed this to him. "But when they went back, they made a U-turn. They are doing mischief with the lives of the students. They are misleading the people and doing injustice to the students of Tamil Nadu. They are undemocratic...," he alleged.

Pradhan said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had also initially agreed. "Today is March 10. We still have 20 days left in March," he said, indicating the time left for the Tamil Nadu government to sign the MoU on PM SHRI.

Taking strong exception to the minister's remarks, the DMK members raised slogans against the central government in the House. Speaker Om Birla asked the agitating members to return to their seats and allow the House to function normally.

Birla said he had given an opportunity to the opposition members to pose questions and, subsequently, the minister had replied. "But now you are doing this (protests). This is not good. You are setting a wrong precedent. Don't violate parliamentary procedures," he said. After some time, Birla adjourned the House till 12 noon.

Outside Parliament, Kanimozhi said, "Nothing should be imposed on any state; education is in the concurrent list, why do you have to decide something and force it on any state?"

"I think state has an equal right when a subject is in the concurrent list. This is a budgetary allocation. Why are you withholding that money and saying that you come and sign that you will accept the NEP and three-language policy, and only then will we release the funds? I don't think the Union govt has the right to do that," the DMK MP said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin also hit out at Pradhan, alleging he spoke with "arrogance" and asked him to "control his tongue". Stalin asserted that the Tamil Nadu government did not come forward to implement the Centre's PM SHRI scheme, and when that is the case, he said nobody could persuade him further in this regard. "Just answer if you could release the fund or not, which was collected from us and which is meant for the students of Tamil Nadu," the chief minister took to X.