Chennai: Even the principal opposition DMK, which has, all these days, been accusing the AIADMK government of succumbing to pressures from the Centre, was caught by surprise when Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami asserted on Monday that Tamilnadu would not allow the three-language formula of the Union government.
Promptly, DMK president M K Stalin has thanked Palaniswami. By taking a bold stand against the all-powerful Centre, EPS has scored brownie points, especially with just months left for Assembly elections. Language is a sensitive subject in Tamilnadu and Palaniswami has understood this well.
As a result, he on Mondy categorically stated the two language policy would continue in the State.
In a statement after holding a high-level meeting with Ministers and senior officials on the NEP at the State Secretariat here, he rejected the three language policy proposed by the Centre and said it would not be allowed in the State.
It was saddening and painful to note that the NEP has stressed on the three language policy, the Chief Minister said, adding, the State would continue to implement the two-language policy.
‘Though the NEP has proposed language policy, the AIADMK government will never ever allow it in Tamil Nadu and will continue to implement the two-language policy’, Palaniswami added.
He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respect the collective sentiments of the people of the State and the political parties favouring only the two-language policy in the State.
Urging the Centre to reconsider its stand on the three-language policy taking into account the overall views of the people of the State, the Chief Minsiter also appealed to Modi to allow the States to implement their own language policy according to their views.
If the interests of Tamil language or that of Tamils are affected, the government would take steps at once, Palaniswami said and pointed out that his government had opposed the three language policy in the draft NEP and also wrote to Modi in this regard on 26 June, 2019.
The people of Tamilnadu were firm in following the two-language policy for more than 80 years and have expressed their sentiments over the issue through protests at different points of time.
Citing the 1965 anti-Hindi stir, Palaniswami also recalled the historic resolution passed in the State Assembly abolishing the three language policy in all schools on 23 January, 1968 during the tenure of C N Annadurai as Chief Minister while removing Hindi from the State syllabus and allowing Tamil and English.
He also recalled another resolution passed in the Assembly in support of two-language policy on 13 November, 1986 during AIADMK founder and Chief Minister M G Ramachandran’s regime.
He also recalled that late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa too had insisted that Hindi should not be imposed on people in non-Hindi speaking States and that any such efforts would be defeated. All the Opposition parties, including the DMK welcomed the Chief Minister’s stand opposing the three language policy and for stating that the two language policy would continue to be implemented in the State.
In a tweet, DMK president M K Stalin welcomed the government’s stand and thanked the Chief Minister for opposing the move to impose three-language policy in the name of NEP.
”Not just the Centre’s language policy, the NEP itself is flawed and has several mistakes which will snatch the educationa rights of the students’, he said.
Stating that the leaders of DMK’s alliance parties have written a letter to the Chief Minister pointing out the flaws, he said the Chief Minister should register his opposition on this basis also.
Earlier, in a letter to Palaniswami, the opposition leaders urged him to oppose the NEP and termed it as an attempt to impose Hindi and Sanskrit languages on the country.
Urging Palaniswami to oppose the NEP in toto and adopt a resolution in the State Cabinet rejecting the three-language policy and that the two-language formula would continue, Stalin said the NEP was an attempt to divert the students community towards saffronisation of education.