Chief Minister Stalin assured that if the central government does not step forward to provide educational assistance to religious minority students, the Tamil Nadu government will take the matter into consideration and take appropriate action.
Chief Minister MK Stalin stated at a Christmas function hosted by the Christian Goodwill Movement in Chennai: “A government should treat all people equally and without bias. It should care for all its citizens. DMK government will always treat people equally. The Dravidian model of governance encompasses all these qualities.”
He also stated that he is unable to comment on the petition he received regarding the appointment of school teachers to religious minority schools and Adi-Dravidar Christian reservations because both issues are pending in the court.
CM MK Stalin stated, in an attempt to woo religious minorities and their votes, “Several people asked me about the pre-metric scholarship for religious minorities that was discontinued. It should be done by the central government. We continue to write to the central government regarding this; Let’s wait. If the central government does not come forward to do it properly, I promise that the state government will help in whatever way it can.”
It should be noted that scholarship based on religion is seen as a threat to the country’s secular fabric and the principle of equality. Chief Minister MK Stalin’s promise of scholarship based on religion from the state government is seen as an attempt to appease minorities in order to secure their votes.
On November 25, 2022, the Union government decided to cancel the pre-matric scholarships for students from class 1 to 8 belonging to minority communities from the academic year 2022-23. The government restricted the pre-matric scholarship scheme meant for minority communities to only include students of classes 9 and 10. The government justified its stand by saying that the Right to Education Act (RTE Act) covers compulsory education up to class 8 for all students.
(With inputs from Dinamalar)
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