'Rise above political differences': Dharmendra Pradhan hits back at Stalin on NEP row

NEW DELHI: In response to MK Stalin's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday wrote to the Tamil Nadu CM, clarifying that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 does not mandate any language.

He targeted the Tamil Nadu CM for interpreting NEP 2020 with a "myopic vision" and for portraying progressive educational reforms as political threats. Pradhan also stated that the chief minister's letter to PM contradicted the spirit of cooperative federalism.

Pradhan urged the Tamil Nadu government to "rise above political differences for the interest of young learners." He also added, "By not implementing NEP 2020, we are depriving our students, teachers, and parents of global and pan-India opportunities. Rejecting a student-centric, future-focused policy is really regressive. Education should not be politicized. Misrepresented facts won’t solve anything. Even many non-BJP states are implementing NEP, taking full cooperation from the federal government. Tamil Nadu is losing out on Rs 5,000 crore by not implementing PM Shri Schools, which focus on scientific education and teaching methods in the Tamil language."

Earlier today, on International Mother Language Day, CM Stalin posted on X, saying, “We should protect our mother tongues from our foes. Tamil is our virtue. Tamil is our protection.”


In his letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday, Stalin expressed concerns over Union education minister Pradhan's statement that Tamil Nadu's 'Samagra Shiksha' funds would not be released unless the state implements the 'three-language' policy outlined in NEP 2020.

Meanwhile, BJP's Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai supported the three-language policy, saying that learning a third language is beneficial for Tamil Nadu. He also accused the DMK and its allies of misleading the public by claiming that Hindi would be mandatory under the new education policy.

On Tuesday, deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin argued that “Hindi will destroy Tamil like it did many North Indian languages.”

The INDIA bloc parties united to protest against the BJP-led central government, accusing it of encroaching on state rights, denying funds in the Union Budget, and withholding educational funds for Tamil Nadu.

"Hindi destroyed the local languages of states in the north such as Rajasthani, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, and other Bihari languages and has become the primary local language. The same will happen if Hindi is implemented in Tamil Nadu too. Almost 99% of Tamils who are now working abroad and in prestigious organisations such as Isro were from govt schools who did not study Hindi," Udhayanidhi said at the protest.

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