CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Tuesday criticized the ruling DMK, alleging that the party prioritized politics over children's future.
The war of words over the National Education Policy (NEP) escalated when DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi challenged Annamalai to ensure that the Centre released education funds if he truly cared about the students.
"Maintaining that Tamil Nadu would never accept BJP's agenda of misinformation, financial strangulation, and Hindi imposition," Kanimozhi said in a post on social media platform X, "Thiru @annamalai_k, the world knows how BJP manipulates data — Dr Parakala Prabhakar exposed it in The Crooked Timber of New India: Essays on a Republic in Crisis."
Kanimozhi accused the BJP of selectively quoting statistics and twisting numbers to suit its propaganda. She claimed that ASER data was "cooked up," which is why the DMK government was conducting its own survey to assess the real impact of education policies.
The Thoothukkudi MP pointed out that even the 2025 Economic Survey praised Tamil Nadu for transforming education through schemes like Illam Thedi Kalvi, Ennum Ezhuthum, and the breakfast program for school children. "Unlike BJP-ruled states struggling with literacy, the DMK invested in our students' future," she said.
"You claim to care about Tamil Nadu's students — then why has your government withheld Rs 2,152 crore in Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds rightfully owed to Tamil Nadu? If you truly care, tell your union government to release these funds instead of preaching to us," Kanimozhi said.
She also criticized the Centre for allegedly removing German and other foreign languages from Kendriya Vidyalayas while continuing to impose Hindi and Sanskrit, thereby depriving students of global exposure and pushing BJP's ideological agenda.
"If you are truly advocating for a three-language policy, give us the data about how many KV schools teach Tamil? Do you even know that many KVs in Tamil Nadu don't have Tamil teachers?" she asked.
Responding to her statements, Annamalai posted a lengthy reply on X.
"Anbu Akka Tmt @KanimozhiDMK, if the GOI-published data is critical of the TN Govt, you would call it biased. If the data is appreciative, you will publish it on the front page."
He accused the DMK of creating a false narrative, saying, "The pseudo-truth environment that the DMK wished to construct will be dismantled even if the TN government commissioned a survey to understand the quality of education imparted."
"We are confident that the results would point out the deteriorating education standards in TN today under your brother's regime," he said.
He pointed out that schemes like Ennum Ezhuthum, Illam Thedi Kalvi, and the morning breakfast program were already proposed in NEP 2020 and Samagra Shiksha. He added that as an MP, Kanimozhi should have known that many NEP recommendations were implemented in other states before being introduced in Tamil Nadu, without the need to rebrand them.
"For DMK, politics takes precedence over the future of our children. Did @BJP4TamilNadu compel the DMK Govt to send a letter to the Central Govt committing that PM Shri would be implemented starting this academic year?" he asked.
"The PM Shri subsumed many aspects of Samagra Shiksha, even if you and the part-time school education minister of TN say otherwise in front of the media. Your brother and nephew have been avoiding answering this question. Would you at least care to answer?" Annamalai said.
Annamalai further questioned why students in Tamil Nadu government schools were denied the opportunity to learn a third language, while CBSE and matriculation school students, including those in private schools run by the DMK family, had access to it.