The ongoing debate over the alleged imposition of a third language under the National Education Policy (NEP) in Tamil Nadu has escalated into a fierce political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliance.
On Friday, while Union home minister Amit Shah asked MK Stalin to commence engineering and medical education in Tamil in the state, BJP state chief K Annamalai slammed the Tamil Nadu chief minister for “swinging” his “paper word against the delusional Hindi imposition”.
Amit Shah and Annamalai’s statements came after Tamil Nadu chief minister Stalin said the NEP was like “an LKG student lecturing a PhD holder”, adding that Tamil Nadu has already achieved many of the policy’s goals.
Targeting the chief minister on the language issue, Amit Shah said the Narendra Modi government effected changes and now ensured that the CISF aspirants could write the exam in their respective regional languages.
“Now the PM Narendra Modi government has ensured that the exam can be written in Tamil too,” news agency PTI quoted the home minister as saying at the 56th Raising Day of the CISF at RTC Thakkolam in Ranipet, about 70 km from Chennai.
“I appeal to the Tamil Nadu chief minister to start the engineering and medical education in Tamil in the state for the benefit of students,” Amit Shah further said.
‘Delusional Hindi imposition’
BJP state chief K Annamalai claimed that his party’s pro-NEP signature campaign had garnered strong support from the people of Tamil Nadu. “Thiru MK Stalin, our online signature campaign through puthiyakalvi.in is supported by over 2 lakh people within 36 hours, and our on-ground signature campaign continues to receive an overwhelming reception across TN. As the TN CM, you seem visibly rattled, and your rants against the signature campaign mean nothing to us,” Annamalai said in a post on X.
Annamalai accusing the Stalin-led DMK of failing to carry out a successful signature campaign despite being in power. “Despite being in power, you couldn’t carry out a signature campaign against NEET, and remember that your cadres had to throw the pamphlets in the dustbin after realizing where they truly belonged. Thiru MK Stalin, stop swinging your paper word against the delusional Hindi imposition. Your fake Hindi imposition drama has already been exposed. It’s unfortunate that you haven’t realised it yet,” he added.
Stalin’s LKG remark
Annamalai’s comments were a direct response to Stalin’s above-mentioned remarks through a post on X on Friday, which mocked the BJP’s campaign as a “circus.” In his post on X, Stalin challenged the BJP to make the three-language rule of the new education policy (NEP) a key issue in the 2026 Assembly elections, calling it a referendum on Hindi imposition.
“The biggest irony is that Tamil Nadu, which rejects #NEP, has already achieved many of its goals, which the policy aims to reach only by 2030. This is like an LKG student lecturing a PhD holder. Dravidam does not take dictations from Delhi. Instead, it sets the course for the nation to follow,” Stalin said in the post.
“Now the BJP’s circus-like signature campaign for the three-language formula has become a laughing stock in Tamil Nadu. I challenge them to make this their core agenda in the 2026 Assembly elections and let it be a referendum on Hindi imposition. History is clear. Those who tried to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu have either been defeated or later changed their stance and aligned with DMK. Tamil Nadu will not tolerate Hindi colonialism replacing British colonialism,” Stalin wrote.