Political tensions escalated on Tuesday as Opposition parties, led by the DMK, demanded an apology from Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over his remarks on Tamil Nadu’s language policy and the implementation of the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme during the Parliament’s Budget session on Monday.
The controversy has drawn sharp reactions from multiple parties, with the DMK, Congress, and Trinamul Congress calling Pradhan’s statements offensive and undemocratic.
The dispute erupted in the Parliament on Monday after Pradhan accused the Tamil Nadu government of being "dishonest" in implementing the PM SHRI scheme.
His remarks led to strong protests from DMK MPs, forcing a 30-minute adjournment in the Lok Sabha.
Pradhan alleged that Tamil Nadu had initially agreed to the scheme but later reversed its decision.
“They are dishonest and they are ruining the future of the students of Tamil Nadu. They are doing politics,” Pradhan said in the Parliament on Monday.
He further claimed that chief minister MK Stalin had initially agreed to the scheme but later changed his stance due to pressure from an unspecified "super CM."
Soon after, Stalin responded strongly, accusing Pradhan of arrogance and reiterating the state’s rejection of the NEP.
“The Union Education Minister, who thinks of himself as a king and speaks arrogantly, needs to be disciplined!” Stalin wrote on X.
He further alleged that the Centre was pressuring Tamil Nadu by withholding ₹2000 crore in education funds unless the state adopted the three-language policy, which includes Hindi and Sanskrit.
“Even if they offer Rs 100,000 crore, we will not accept this hazardous NEP scheme,” Stalin declared.
Citing Tamil Nadu's economic growth, Stalin added, “Tamil Nadu has become India's second most economically developed state. In the last three years, more than ₹10 lakh crore in private investments have been ensured. If there were no hurdles, our growth would have been even better.”
The DMK has long opposed the NEP and the imposition of Hindi in the state's education system.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore condemned Pradhan’s remarks, calling them “very unparliamentary”.
“The way BJP and RSS degrade the language of Parliament shows their arrogance,” he said, welcoming the Speaker’s intervention in getting the statement withdrawn.
The Trinamul Congress also came out in support of the DMK, demanding an apology from Pradhan. Senior TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee said, “A central minister using such language for the people of Tamil Nadu has downgraded the state. Either he should apologise in the House, or he should be removed from the cabinet. PM Modi should hear what his ministers are doing.”
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram reinforced Tamil Nadu’s stance against Hindi imposition, stating, “Tamil Nadu is very clear that a two-language curriculum serves us well. Tamil preserves our identity, and English is our link to the world of commerce and science. We don’t need a third compulsory language.”
With the Opposition united in its demand for an apology, and the Tamil Nadu government standing firm against the NEP and Hindi imposition, the political row over language policy is expected to escalate further in the coming days.