Tamils won’t yield to Centre's blackmail, Stalin tells Pradhan

CHENNAI: In a sharp rebuttal to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's allegations that the Tamil Nadu government is playing politics in its approach to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday vehemently defended the state's stance, asserting that the decision to not implement the trilingual policy was rooted in a principled interpretation of constitutional law.

Stalin questioned the constitutional validity of the trilingual policy, challenging Pradhan to specify which provision of the Indian Constitution mandates its imposition.

"Can the education minister clarify which section of the Indian constitution makes the trilingual policy a legal requirement?" Stalin queried in a social media post.

The chief minister further emphasised that education is a subject listed under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, meaning it is a shared responsibility between the Union and state governments.

"The Union of India is made up of states, and education falls within the Concurrent List. The Union government cannot claim exclusive authority over this matter," Stalin declared, underlining the principle of federalism that allows for state-specific policies to be implemented within the framework of the Constitution.

Referring to the threat to withhold funds to Tamil Nadu until the state accepts the trilingual policy, Stalin described this as blatant political blackmail.

"Tamils will not tolerate such audacity. To suggest that funds will be withheld to Tamil Nadu unless the trilingual policy is accepted is an outright attempt at intimidation," he remarked.

He further stressed that Tamil Nadu was not demanding anything unjust but was merely asserting its rights within the constitutional framework.

"The Union government must understand we are asking for our rightful autonomy, not some private concession. If the government continues to act with such arrogance, it will have to contend with the private nature of Tamil sentiments," Stalin warned.

Meanwhile, the CM also condemned the alleged actions of the Centre in blocking the website of ‘Vikatan’, a popular Tamil media outlet that has been in operation for over a century.

He described the action as a clear example of the BJP's "fascist" tendencies and a direct assault on the freedom of the press.

"I strongly condemn the blocking of Vikatan's website. It is an attack on media freedom and an example of the growing authoritarianism within the BJP. Suppressing media outlets for expressing differing opinions is detrimental to democracy, " Stalin said.

He called for the immediate restoration of the ‘Vikatan’ website, emphasising that such censorship is a dangerous precedent that undermines democratic values.