New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s remarks in the Lok Sabha on Monday criticising the Tamil Nadu government for refusing to implement the National Education Policy and doing a “U-turn” on the issue for “politics” drew angry protests from the DMK, disrupting proceedings in the House.
“They are dishonest and they are ruining the future of the students of Tamil Nadu … they are misleading the people,” Pradhan said while replying to a query on the Centre not releasing funds for the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.
Hitting back, the DMK said it had clearly told the minister “we cannot accept” the NEP “in full” and the three-language formula “is not acceptable to Tamil Nadu”. It said the Centre cannot stop the release of budgetry allocation for education on the issue of implementing the NEP.
Earlier in his reply, Pradhan said the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has changed its stand on implementing the centrally-sponsored scheme PM SHRI which envisaged strengthening the schools managed by central, state or local bodies.
The state concerned has to sign an MoU with the central government that it would implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and in return, the central government provides the funds.
“The Tamil Nadu government had initially agreed to sign the MoU. But now they have changed the stand. Many non-BJP-ruled states, including Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, have signed the agreement,” he said.
Pradhan said: “They are dishonest and they are ruining the future of the students of Tamil Nadu. They are doing politics”.
The minister said that at one point, the government of Tamil Nadu had agreed to the PM SHRI scheme and several (DMK) MPs, who came to see him, conveyed this to him.
“But when they went back, they made a U-turn. They are doing mischief with the lives of the students. They are misleading the people and doing injustice to the students of Tamil Nadu. They are undemocratic…,” he alleged.
Pradhan said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had also agreed initially “but suddenly some super CM appeared and they took a U-Turn. They just want to do politics”.
“Today is March 10. We still have 20 days left in March,” he said, indicating the time left for the Tamil Nadu government to sign the MoU on PM SHRI.
Taking strong exception to the minister’s remarks, the DMK members raised slogans against the central government in the House.
Speaker Om Birla asked the agitating members to return to their seats and allow the House to function normally.
Birla said he had given an opportunity to the opposition members to pose questions and, subsequently, the minister had replied. “But now you are doing this (protests). This is not good. You are setting a wrong precedent. Don’t violate parliamentary procedures,” he said.
However, the DMK members ignored his pleas and continued their protests. Members of the Congress and other opposition parties also joined them.
After some time, Birla adjourned the House till 12 noon.
When the House reassembled at noon, DMK member Kanimozhi told the House that she was “very pained and hurt” by a particular word used by the minister.
She also said that she and other DMK MPs, along with the Tamil Nadu education minister, had met Pradhan to request him to release the funds to the state under education schemes.
“We have clearly said that we have issues with the NEP and we cannot accept it in full. We said that the three-language formula is not acceptable to Tamil Nadu.
“The truth is that the chief minister of Tamil Nadu had written to the minister as well as the prime minister saying that we have issues with NEP and cannot accept it in total. He had also requested to release the funds,” she said, adding, “The MPs of Tamil Nadu have never accepted the NEP”.
Responding to Kanimozhi, Pradhan said, “My esteemed colleague, one of my dearest sisters and senior member honourable Kanimozhi has raised two points.
“At one point she said that 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 on that,” he said.
Pradhan said the MPs had met him on several occasions and the education minister of Tamil Nadu was also part of the delegation, which was in a “good spirit that something (solution) should come up”.
“I was also open. We have agreed on certain things. They went back and mentioned this to the chief minister who has also given his consent to go ahead. Later, they told me informally that certain issues had come up. This is unfortunate,” he said.
The minister said since today is March 10, there is time and the Tamil Nadu government can come back on the issues they have agreed to and the central government would respond to that.
“We have no issues with the non-BJP ruled states — Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab,” he said.
After Pradhan’s comments, the Speaker said since the minister withdrew the word that he had used, it would be expunged from the records.
Last month, Stalin had said he was firm on his stance of not implementing the NEP in Tamil Nadu even if the Centre offered to provide Rs 10,000 crore to the state.
The chief minister said the opposition to the NEP is not merely over the “imposition of Hindi” but there are several other factors that would have serious consequences on the future of students and the social justice system.
The total cost of the PM SHRI scheme will be Rs 27,360 crore spread over five years which includes the central share of Rs 18,128 crore.
A total of 12,079 schools have been selected from 32 states and UTs of which 1,329 schools are primary, 3,340 schools are elementary, 2,921 schools are secondary and 4,489 schools are senior secondary.
Outside Parliament, Kanimozhi said on Monday, “Nothing should be imposed on any state; education is in the concurrent list, why do you have to decide something and force it on any state?”
“I think state has an equal right when a subject is in the concurrent list. This is a budgetary allocation. Why are you withholding that money and saying that you come and sign that you will accept the NEP and three-language policy, only then we will release the funds? I don’t think the Union govt has the right to do that,” the DMK MP said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin also hit out at Pradhan, alleging he spoke with “arrogance” and asked him to “control his tongue”.
Stalin asserted that the Tamil Nadu government did not come forward to implement the Centre’s PM SHRI scheme and when that is the case, he said nobody could persuade him further in this regard.
“Just answer if you could release the fund or not, which was collected from us and which is meant for the students of Tamil Nadu,” the chief minister said in a social media post.
