"Ground is very clear; people of Tamil Nadu want the NEP": Annamalai

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 25 (ANI): Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai on Tuesday defended the National Education Policy (NEP), underlining its positive impact on the state. He announced a series of seven additional conferences across Tamil Nadu in support of the NEP.
Speaking to the media, the Tamil Nadu BJP Chief highlighted that the policy offers flexibility regarding the third language, a shift from previous education policies that mandated Hindi.
"With respect to the National Education Policy, on Sunday, we opened our first conference (in support of NEP) in Trichy. We are doing seven more conferences across Tamil Nadu. The ground is very clear; the people of Tamil Nadu want the NEP. The people of Tamil Nadu want a third language that is not imposed on them," Annamalai said.
"Be it the first National Education Policy 1968, where Hindi was made compulsory as a third language. In the second National Education Policy in 1986, Hindi was made compulsory as a third language. It was the Congress party which was destroying our country by trying to impose one language on certain states. This National Education Policy, for the very first time, has made the third language not compulsory as Hindi. How is the BJP destroying our country's fabric by bringing the National Education Policy? Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should get his facts and history right," he said.
Further, he also asserted that the BJP is ready for an alliance with any party whose only aim is to dethrone the DMK from Tamil Nadu.
"The BJP continues to be strong. The current NDA continues to be strong. Our doors and windows are always open for any leader to come and join the NDA to strengthen it. Anybody joining us with the only aim of dethroning DMK, everybody is welcome," Annamalai said.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday announced that all-party parliamentarians from the state will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for their demand for fair delimitation.
Stalin emphasised that Tamil Nadu had led the charge on the issue by passing a legislative resolution, holding an all-party meeting, and forming an all-India Joint Action Committee, making a significant impact at the national level.
"The demand made by Tamil Nadu is for fair delimitation. It is the first state in India to pass a legislative resolution, an all-party meeting, and an all-India Joint Action Committee, which has had an impact on the Indian level. To take this to the next level, all-party parliamentarians from Tamil Nadu are set to meet the Honourable Prime Minister and press our demand!" posted Stalin on X.
The Tamil Nadu government has been vocal about its opposition to any delimitation process that could reduce the state's representation in Parliament due to population control efforts.
The proposed meeting with the Prime Minister aims to ensure that Tamil Nadu's concerns are addressed in any future changes to parliamentary seat allocation.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin called a Joint Action Committee meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue of delimitation. Leaders from various states gathered in Chennai to express their concerns with the proposed exercise.
The Joint Action Committee also passed a resolution on the issue of delimitation, expressing concern over the "lack of transparency and clarity" from the Union government.
The JAC unanimously demanded greater transparency from the Union government regarding any delimitation exercise and called for the extension of the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on the 1971 Census Population for another 25 years.
The JAC, led by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, urged the central government to "not penalise" the states which have effectively implemented the population control program. (ANI)