Kiren Rijiju defends NEP's three-language formula amidst debates

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the three-language formula in the New Education Policy (NEP) is good for the whole country.

Responding to a query regarding the ongoing serious debate on the three-language policy in the NEP, especially from the southern states, he said that there are some miscommunications or some people deliberately "trying to play politics".

"The three-language policy in the national education policy is good for the whole country," the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs told reporters here.

Rijiju was in Thiruvananthapuram to attend the regional review meeting and training workshop on the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) for the states and union territories of the Southern Region.

"Today, honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji is the Prime Minister of India, but Hindi is not his mother tongue; his mother tongue is Gujarati. Our Home Minister Amit Shah ji his mother tongue is Gujarati. The Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has Odia as his mother tongue and my mother tongue is Arunachali, but we are working as a team with the interest of our country foremost," Rijiju said.

So, let us not divide the country on the basis of religion or language, he added.

"We are all Indians; let us work together and Prime Minister Modi ji has continuously said that every region, every community, and everybody in India is equal, and everybody will be given equal treatment for protection and equal preference, so let us not divide the country on the basis of caste, creed, religion or community or state or region."

His statement came amidst strong opposition from the Tamil Nadu government against NEP 2020, which raised concerns over the "three-language formula" and accused the Centre of "attempting to impose Hindi".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin reiterated his firm stance, stating that he would not agree to implement the NEP even if the Centre offered Rs 10,000 crore in funding.

In contrast, as per media reports, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu voiced strong support for the Centre, advocating for the learning of not just three but multiple languages.