Annamalai, DMK minister spar over third language policy

A  war of words erupted between Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai and DMK Minister Palanivel Thaiaga Rajan, popularly known as PTR, over the CBSE education system and the implementation of a third-language policy in the state’s schools. This comes amid strong resistance from the DMK government to the Centre’s continuous attempts to implement the third language policy in the state. The DMK Minister emphasised that Tamil Nadu remains committed to a two-language policy and will not accept a compulsory three-language policy. PTR argued that such a policy would lead to the imposition of Hindi and diminish the significance of the Tamil language. However, Annamalai exuded confidence that a third optional language would be introduced for government school students in the near future. It all started when Annamalai shared a video featuring an elderly man questioning Minister PTR about the implementation of a third-language policy. The BJP leader claimed that a heated exchange occurred between the Minister and an “elderly person”, Karunanidhi, leading to the person being allegedly bullied and removed from the event. Taking to social media X, Annamalai said, “Instead of answering, he was bullied by the DMK Minister and was pushed out of the hall for exposing the flawed policies of the Tamil Nadu government that have deprived children studying in government schools of learning a third language.” Responding to Annamalai’s accusations, PTR dismissed them as routine propagation of half-truths and twisted versions. The Minister asserted that Annamalai conveniently omitted the conclusion of the video, which contained the political reasoning behind the language policy. PTR also clarified that no one was evicted from the room.