Amid the tension between the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government and the BJP-led Centre over delimitation, and National Education Policy's (NEP) three languages row, sharp references were made on Friday during the 2025 budget presentation by state finance minister Thangam Thennarasu at the assembly.
The tension further intensified as the session was boycotted by the BJP. Moreover, AIADMK staged a walkout as well when they were told that today they could not raise allegations of a rupees 40,000 crore corruption scam in the state liquor sales unit.
The DMK Vs BJP At Assembly
Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu's scathing references included accusing the Centre of "cheating" Tamil Nadu of Rs 2,150 crore in funds for the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
The attack was in reference to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's remark that the funds would not be released till the 'Hindi imposition' claims are withdrawn and the NEP implemented.
"However, this year the centre cheated us by not releasing Rs 2,152 crores for not accepting NEP, which encourages a three-language system. So the state is allocating its own funds..." he said, as per a report by NDTV.
However, the finance minister further asserted that the state government would fund the shortfall which includes salaries for teachers at government-run schools on its own. "Under Samagra Shiksha, the state had successfully implemented student welfare schemes for past seven years", he said.
"Even at this critical juncture, people of Tamil Nadu have rallied behind the Chief Minister for standing firm on the bilingual policy... even at the cost of foregoing two thousand crore rupees," he added.
Furthermore, in line with DMK's 'no compromise' stance on the 'Hindi imposition' row, the Finance Minister said it "has taken us to greater heights... Tamils achieve globally because of this".
DMK vs BJP: Three Languages Row
The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has been fighting a battle over the implementation of the three languages policy that makes learning a third language in addition to a mother tongue and English for students in Class VII and above compulsory.
The MK Stalin-led DMK has strongly opposed the move saying that the existing two-language policy has served the state well enough.
Defending the move, the BJP said that the implementation of the new policy will benefit people traveling to other states while arguing that the NEP does not force a student to study Hindi.
Amid the row with the Central government over NEP 2020 three language requirement and the delimitation row, the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has replaced the rupee symbol with a Tamil language symbol representing the same. This development comes ahead of the state budget presentation on Saturday.
DMK vs BJP: The Delimitation Row
The DMK and BJP are also on loggerheads over the delimitation exercise, which is expected next year. The clash of opinion revolves around redrawing parliamentary constituencies based on population levels. It is anticipated that the exercise could also meddle with the proportion of Lok Sabha representatives from the southern states.
In recent times, the delimitation issue has taken center stage owing to a visible conflict between the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led central government as CM Stalin expressed concerns over possibly losing eight parliamentary seats due to the state라이브 바카라 success in implementing a family planning program, which resulted in population control. As a result, the state라이브 바카라 representation in Parliament could be reduced.
