National News Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis Fact-Checks TN CM Stalin On Marathi Language Claim, Schools Him On NEP

April 23, 2025
The Commune

On 22 April 2025, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit back at Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin’s criticism regarding the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), asserting that Stalin should first gain a comprehensive understanding of the policy before questioning the Prime Minister. Fadnavis also questioned Stalin’s reluctance toward promoting multilingual education.

The exchange came in response to a post made by Stalin a day earlier, in which he raised concerns over Fadnavis’ claim that Marathi was the only mandatory third language in Maharashtra under the NEP. Stalin accused Fadnavis of backtracking amid public backlash over the alleged imposition of Hindi, and demanded clarification from the Prime Minister and the Union Education Minister on whether Fadnavis’ position reflected the official stance of the central government.

What Fadnavis Wrote

In a post on his official X account, Stalin wrote, “Facing a massive backlash for imposing Hindi as the third language, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis now claims that only Marathi is compulsory in the state. This is a clear manifestation of his trepidation over the widespread public condemnation against imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States. Hon’ble PM and Union Education Minister must clarify:

  • Does the Union Government officially endorse his position that no language other than Marathi is compulsory in Maharashtra as the third language under National Education Policy (#NEP)?
  • If so, will the Union government issue a clear directive to all states affirming that the NEP does not require the compulsory teaching of a third language?
  • Will the Union Government release the Rs. 2,152 crore it unjustly withheld for Tamil Nadu on the premise that the state must subscribe to the teaching of a mandatory third language?”

In response, Fadnavis shared a link to the NEP document on X and suggested Stalin study it thoroughly. He emphasized that the NEP does not impose any language but allows flexibility, encouraging students to learn any two Indian languages in addition to English.

“Mr. Stalin,” Fadnavis posted, “Before seeking clarifications from Hon PM Narendra Modi ji, you need a deep understanding of National Education Policy. First you need to study what exactly NEP is ! Here is link for your ref – https://education.gov.in/national-education-policy. NEP never insisted or made compulsion on language choice but only asks to study any 2 Indian languages other than English, out of 3. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, we are open to Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit or any language of student’s choice which they wish to study as the third language. Main question is why are you not open to multi-lingualism & have a problem if someone wants to study in Hindi?” 

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