The ongoing war of words between the ruling BJP and DMK led to disruptions in the Lok Sabha Monday, with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan forced to withdraw a word from his remarks following protests by Tamil Nadu MPs. During the face-off in Question Hour, Pradhan accused the DMK government in Tamil Nadu of being “dishonest” and playing “politics” with the future of the state’s students. While criticising the DMK government’s opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), he also accused it of doing a “U-turn” over PM-SHRI schools, bringing DMK MPs to their feet. Soon after the exchange in Parliament, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin put out a post on social media accusing Pradhan of “arrogance”. “Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who speaks with arrogance as if he were a king, needs to watch his words!” Stalin wrote. “You are withholding Tamil Nadu’s rightful funds and deceiving us, yet you call Tamil Nadu MPs uncivilised?. Does Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi approve of this?” The Tamil Nadu government had never agreed to implement the PM-SHRI (Schools for Rising India) Scheme, unlike what Pradhan said, Stalin wrote. Referring to a letter written by Pradhan in 2024, he said: “Wasn’t it you who wrote to me confirming that the Tamil Nadu government had completely rejected NEP, the three-language policy, and the PM SHRI MoU?” But, as the issue escalates, many in the BJP fear it may just be what the DMK wants ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, even as the BJP itself takes a hit. Tamil Nadu is high on the BJP’s agenda, with its efforts to make inroads meeting some success in last year’s Lok Sabha polls. By calling the NEP a bid to force Hindi on Tamil Nadu, Stalin has raised an emotive issue with resonance in the state. The Parliament face-off began when DMK MP T Sumathy, asking a supplementary question, claimed that around Rs 2,000 crore meant for Tamil Nadu had been diverted to other states due to its opposition to the NEP. Calling it “a death knell for cooperative federalism”, Sumathy asked whether the Centre could use funds as a tool for “revenge”, at the cost of schoolchildren. In his reply, Pradhan claimed that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to sign an MoU over PM-SHRI. “A few of my MP colleagues (along with) the Education Minister of Tamil Nadu agreed… They went back, made a U-turn… The Government of India is open on this issue. Many non-BJP states, especially Congress’s Karnataka, have accepted the NEP though they have made some reservations verbally, and are implementing PM-SHRI,” he said, suggesting that Stalin, too, was earlier agreeable to it. Pradhan added that there are still 20 days left in March, indicating that the Tamil Nadu government had time to sign the MoU on PM-SHRI. As DMK MPs, accusing Pradhan of lying, came to the well of the House, Opposition members joined the protest from their seats, leading to a half-an-hour adjournment. (PTI adds: When the House met again, DMK MP Kanimozhi said she was “very pained and hurt” by a particular word used by the minister. Responding to her, Pradhan said, “My esteemed colleague, one of my dearest sisters and senior member, honourable Kanimozhi has raised two points. According to her, I have used a word which I should not have used for the members from Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu government and people of Tamil Nadu. Let’s not mix it. Let me withdraw it. I withdraw my word if it has hurt anyone. I have no issues with that.”) After this, the Speaker said the word would be expunged from the records. In his social media post, Stalin said that while Tamil Nadu had submitted an undertaking in March 2024 indicating willingness to sign the MoU, it returned a modified version in July, dropping the requirement for full NEP implementation. A letter from Pradhan’s office dated August 2024 acknowledged this, he said. Speaking to The Indian Express, DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi N V N Somu said: “First of all, the minister who is holding the highest office needs to know what he is saying. How can the Centre say we will give you funds only if you toe the line?. You cannot put a gun to my head.” The DMK was not against any language of India, she added. “We hold every language and every ethnicity in respect. Our issue is against the imposition of Hindi, which is not new… We have been following a two-language policy and the success (of our model) is before everyone.” DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran told The Indian Express: “The minister lied by saying that the DMK government had agreed to the NEP.” Later in the day, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi submitted a privilege notice against Pradhan, saying the word in his remark that was expunged “cast aspersions”, and “attacked” her “integrity and dignity” as a woman MP. As the DMK raises the heat, back in Tamil Nadu, the BJP is finding itself isolated on the issue, a BJP leader admitted. Pointing out that almost all parties active in the state attended the March 5 meeting convened by Stalin over a population-based delimitation exercise, including the DMK’s chief rival and former BJP ally AIADMK, a BJP source said: “We have a peculiar situation. While our leaders, right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi down, go out of their way to laud Tamil culture and language, a controversy such as this isolates the party. On this issue, we cannot expect any party’s support in Tamil Nadu. Stalin put the ball in our court and we mishandled it.” The leader also pointed out that there had been no official statement from the central BJP on the issue. The BJP is not averse to a realignment with the AIADMK, with both sides hinting at the same in recent days. However, if the Hindi issue continues, the Tamil Nadu-based party may find it difficult to go with the BJP, which is still seen with suspicion by a large section of the state as an “outsider”, North-centric party. However, another senior BJP leader argued that the Hindi issue no longer has the potency it once did. “Data shows that in 1947, those who were conversant in English were just 4-5% of the population, the rest were Tamil users. This stands now at 45% and 55%, respectively. So the number of youth with emotional attachment to the language are coming down,” the leader said. The leader added that DMK allies in the INDIA bloc may be uncomfortable about the party going all out against Hindi, given the Bihar elections this year where they have more at stake. Asserting that the issue would have no electoral impact, the BJP leader said: “For us, it’s a policy matter, and for them, it’s an election issue.” Apart from the NEP, another issue on which Stalin has taken the lead against the Centre is delimitation — the DMK has also got the support of neighbouring Opposition CMs on it. But the BJP believes it is on more solid footing over this, as delimitation is still in the distant future, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted recently that the Modi government would not allow any “injustice” to the southern states in a delimitation exercise. —With ENS inputs, Chennai
