Pradhan was replying to a question by DMK MP T Sumathi who said the ₹2,000 crore PM Shri funds for Tamil Nadu were diverted to other states due to its opposition to the NEP.
Published Mar 10, 2025 | 12:20 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 10, 2025 | 8:29 PM
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Synopsis: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan claimed that the DMK in Tamil Nadu was working against the interests of students in Tamil Nadu by not implementing NEP 2020. Claiming that the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu was dishonest, Pradhan said their only job was raising language matters.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday, 10 March, claimed that the DMK in Tamil Nadu was working against the interests of students in Tamil Nadu by not implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
He was replying to a question by DMK MP T Sumathi who said the ₹2,000 crore PM Shri funds for Tamil Nadu were diverted to other states due to its opposition to the NEP.
She said it was a death knell on cooperative federalism. “Is it right to deny funds for the education of children and use it as a revenge tool against the state government. Will the Union government assure the Parliament that no states will face fund cuts for rejecting a policy not mandated by law?” she asked.
Pradhan said that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union government for PM Shri but later withdrew.
During the Pradhan’s address, DMK MPs raised slogans against the Union government, which led Pradhan to term the DMK MPs as “undemocratic and uncivilised”.
Pradhan later withdrew his comments towards the DMK MPs, but stood by his other assertions.
The Union Minister for Education was compelled by the People’s Power in Tamil Nadu to remember Savarkar. pic.twitter.com/7JsY4ttxDE
— Sasikanth Senthil (@s_kanth) March 10, 2025
Following Pradhan’s speech, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said the former spoke with arrogance as if he was a king and needed to learn restraint.
“You deny Tamil Nadu its rightful funds and then have the audacity to call Tamil Nadu MPs uncivilised? You are insulting the people of Tamil Nadu. Does Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi approve of this? Wasn’t it you who wrote to me stating that Tamil Nadu has completely rejected NEP, the three-language policy, and the PM SHRI MoU?” Stalin asked on X.
“Mr. Pradhan, we act only according to the will of the people! Unlike you, we do not take orders from Nagpur! We will neither implement your flawed policies nor can anyone force us to do so. First, answer this—can you release the rightful funds for Tamil Nadu students, the tax revenue you have collected from us, or not?” he asked further.
தன்னை மன்னரென எண்ணிக் கொண்டு ஆணவத்துடன் பேசும் ஒன்றியக் கல்வி அமைச்சர் @dpradhanbjp அவர்களுக்கு நாவடக்கம் வேண்டும்!
தமிழ்நாட்டின் நிதியைத் தராமல் ஏமாற்றும் நீங்கள் தமிழ்நாட்டு எம்.பி.க்களைப் பார்த்து அநாகரிகமானவர்கள் என்பதா?
தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்களை அவமானப்படுத்துகிறீர்கள்.… pic.twitter.com/wKQ7FhX3rj
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) March 10, 2025
Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil also condemned the Union minister and said he used terms against the state simply because Tamil Nadu rejected the NEP, which according to him, attempts to impose Hindi through the backdoor.
Claiming that the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu was dishonest, Pradhan said their only job was raising language matters.
They (DMK) are dishonest. They are not committed to the students of Tamil Nadu. They are ruining the future of Tamil Nadu students. Their only job is to raise language matters. They are doing politics. They are doing mischief. They are undemocratic and uncivilised,” Pradhan said.
Further, Pradhan claimed the only Tamil Nadu was against the implementation of the NEP and pointed out that some Opposition-ruled states have implemented it.
“The Congress ruled Karnataka has implemented NEP. They raised some concerns, but they are implementing PM Shree. Congress in Himachal has implemented it,” he said.
He repeatedly claimed that the Tamil Nadu government was dishonest and said the state was protesting against NEP even though it was allocated funds under the PM Poshan scheme.
An anti-Hindi agitation has been going on in Tamil Nadu after Pradhan recently said that the funds under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) will not be released for Tamil Nadu if it did not implement the NEP.
However, Chief Minister MK Stalin said the state would not implement it even if the Union government allotted ₹10,000 crore for implementing NEP.
NEP mandates a three-language policy in education, where the native/regional language would be the first language, English as the second language and any other Indian language as the third language.
Critics have been arguing that it is a move to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. Tamil Nadu and other South Indian states have been opposing NEP, terming it as the Union government’s imposition of Hindi.
Stalin had also stated that the state would not “oppose (Hindi) if you don’t impose”.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
