CHENNAI: Continuing his tirade against the National Education Policy (NEP) and delimitation of parliamentary seats, Chief Minister MK Stalin called delimitation a BJP conspiracy to “retain power” by winning the seats in northern states alone and NEP a “saffron policy” formulated to develop Hindi and not India. “Even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will never surrender to this fascism of the BJP,” he said.
Speaking at a public meeting organised in Tiruvallur on Wednesday, the DMK chief alleged that the Modi-led BJP government is trying to increase the number of MPs in states under their influence.
“Unable to mark a significant victory in southern states, the BJP wants to capture power with the support of northern states alone,” Stalin said, adding that he would muster support from across the country against the “fascist” BJP.
Stalin said he has been speaking to various CMs over phone and DMK delegations have been inviting leaders from the seven states that ‘face’ the threat due to delimitation to join the Joint Action Committee meeting scheduled to be held in Chennai on March 22.
Attacking the PM, Stalin said Modi is destroying states and chipping away at their rights with an authoritarian attitude.
Is TN a state of beggars, asks Stalin
Turning the tables on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by using his own assertions when he was the CM of Gujarat, Stalin asked, “On being announced as the PM candidate, Modi assured that there would not be a centralised planning from Delhi for the country, rather he would take support from the regions. Do his acts ever reflect that assurance?”
“Do the states have the right to levy taxes? Do the states receive a fair distribution of taxes? Does the union government maintain parity in implementing schemes,” asked Stalin and answered the questions with a firm “no”.
Escalating his attack on the PM, Stalin asked, “When you were the CM of Gujarat in 2012, you said Gujarat people were sending Rs 60,000 crore to Delhi but in return they get very little. You asked “whether Gujarat was a state of beggars?” Now, I ask you the same question, “Is Tamil Nadu a state of beggars?” You are doing vindictive politics against opposition-ruled states.”
Directing his ire at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his objectionable remarks against the TN MPs, the CM said, “Sanskrit is allotted more funds but not Tamil. Gurajat was given disaster relief funds immediately, but TN has not received it even after two years. Construction of AIIMS in TN has been going on for seven years. Do these actions indicate honourable behaviour?”
Pointing to the 6.2% growth in the third quarter GDP against the expected 6.8%, fall in value of rupee against the US dollar, and US President Trump’s claim of tariff cut by India, Stalin said, “Is this the reputation India has now? Even the small country of Sri Lanka does not have fear and is arresting our fishermen.”
Delving into the reasons for opposing the NEP, the CM said, “We oppose NEP because it will destroy educational development of Tamil Nadu. NEP does not accept social justice and scholarships given to the SC, ST and OBCs. NEP does not aim to bring everybody into the fold of education; rather it has schemes that would exclude people from education.”
“Public exams for primary classes, All-India exam-like semesters for Classes from 9 to 12, and NEET-like exam for arts college admissions are proposed in the NEP. All these will exclude students from education,” said Stalin. Vocational education for students from Class 6 would push the students back to caste-based vocations, which they want to quit, the CM said.
