Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai backs three-language policy amid ongoing language row

Annamalai supports NEP’s three-language policy, launches signature campaign

Amid the ongoing language controversy in Tamil Nadu, state BJP chief K Annamalai has voiced strong support for the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. At a press conference, Annamalai launched a signature campaign in favor of the policy, arguing that it is the need of the hour.

Criticism of DMK over Tamil representation

During the event, Annamalai accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and the DMK of failing to honor Tamil icons when they were in power. He questioned:

“They (DMK) were in alliance from 2006 to 2014. Did you name even one train after a Tamil icon? Why did you not start the Kashi Tamil Samagam?”

He claimed that after the BJP came to power, several trains, such as the Sengol Express, were named after Tamil cultural figures.

Response to Hindi imposition allegations

When asked whether “Hindi imposition” would alienate the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Annamalai dismissed the concerns, stating that the naming of flagship schemes in Hindi was not intentional. He suggested that the Tamil Nadu government should promote their Tamil names instead.

“Giving Hindi names to flagship schemes is better than the (Congress-led) UPA naming schemes after Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,” he remarked.

Mass signature campaign to support NEP 2020

The BJP’s state-level signature campaign seeks to mobilize support from students, parents, and the general public in favor of NEP 2020. This comes amid strong opposition from Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK and the principal opposition AIADMK, both of whom oppose the three-language formula.

The campaign’s objective is to collect one crore signatures and submit them to President Droupadi Murmu as a show of public support for the policy.

Annamalai calls Stalin a ‘hypocrite’ over fund allocation debate

Annamalai criticized Chief Minister M K Stalin, calling him a “hypocrite” for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favoring Sanskrit and Hindi over Tamil in central fund allocations.

While the BJP argues that Modi holds Tamil in high regard, Stalin pointed to the disparity in fund allocation between Tamil and Sanskrit, accusing the Central government of being “enemies of Tamil.”

Tamil Nadu’s opposition to delimitation based on population

In a separate development, an all-party meeting led by Chief Minister Stalin passed a resolution opposing population-based delimitation. The resolution called on Prime Minister Modi to assure Parliament that any future delimitation process should be based on the 1971 population census rather than current demographic figures.

The resolution stated:

“This all-party meeting unanimously and strongly opposes delimitation based on population, which is seen as a big threat to India’s federal structure and the representation of Tamil Nadu and other Southern states.”

As Tamil Nadu’s language debate intensifies, Annamalai and the BJP are pushing for NEP’s three-language policy, while the DMK and AIADMK continue to resist it. Meanwhile, concerns over population-based delimitation add to the broader political tensions between Tamil Nadu and the Central government.

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