New Delhi: Ahead of the elections in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are engaged in a war of words
over the CBSE’s three-language formula under NEP. Stalin slammed the formula, calling it an act to impose Hindi on the people of Tamil Nadu. He added that as long as the DMK is in power, he will not implement the policy in the state.
While speaking to ANI yesterday, he said, “As long as the DMK is in power, we will not allow the three-language policy in Tamil Nadu. The chances of victory look excellent. We will win all 234 constituencies.”
#WATCH | Madurai: On CBSE introducing three-language formula, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin says, “As long as the DMK is in power, we will not allow three-language policy in Tamil Nadu. The chances of victory look excellent. We will win all 234 constituencies.” (05.04) pic.twitter.com/Da7dEnuqey
— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2026
The remark came just a day after he responded to Pradhan’s X post in which the Union Minister was defending the policy. Stalin said the policy is trying to dilute the country’s linguistic diversity and homogenise the ‘One India’ framework.
Pradhan defends policy
Earlier, the Union Minister said that the new policy is a manifesto for linguistic liberation, as he wrote, “Portraying multilingualism as a threat is misplaced. Tamil is not weakened by the learning of additional languages; it is enriched when its speakers are multilingual, confident and linguistically empowered.”
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru @mkstalin ji, your narrative of “imposition” is a tired attempt to mask political failures. The National Education Policy 2020 is, in fact, a manifesto for linguistic liberation. It prioritises the mother tongue so every Tamil child can… https://t.co/DhDP5ECM4e
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) April 4, 2026
Pradhan has told ANI that Stalin is just trying to create fear among the people of Tamil Nadu, as the policy promotes mother tongue and does not mandate Hindi. He added that Stalin is doing politics and no language is being imposed on anyone under any scheme.
Stalin accused centre for withholding funds
MK Stalin has also accused the centre for withholding funds meant under ‘Samagra Shiksha Scheme’ over his refusal to accept Hindi imposition (in his words).
He said, “It is nothing short of audacity to illegally withhold a humongous sum of ₹2,200 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, effectively penalising Tamil Nadu for refusing to accept Hindi imposition. These are not discretionary grants but funds that rightfully belong to the people of Tamil Nadu, collected through taxes; they cannot be weaponised as a tool of coercion.”
The ongoing disagreement over the three-language formula underscores the complexities of implementing the National Education Policy in a linguistically diverse nation.
