Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu
Credit: X/@TThenarasu
Chennai: Tamil Nadu will not budge from its stand that the two-language formula was in the best interests of the state, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu announced in his Budget speech, while asserting that the state will not compromise on its long-held policy for funds from the Union Government.
Thennarasu, who presented the last full-fledged budget of the DMK dispensation before the state goes to assembly polls next year, said the state government will use its own funds to create infrastructure in government schools and pay salaries for teachers if the Centre continues to insist on not releasing over Rs 2,000 crore under Samagra Shiksha scheme.
“By unflinchingly following the bilingual policy, Tamil Nadu not only preserved the Tamil culture but also empowered its youth with English proficiency, to rise with strength on the global stage with their unquenchable thirst for knowledge and success,” Thennarasu said at the beginning of his speech.
The first part of the budget speech focussed on the rich Tamil culture and Tamil identity, which the DMK dispensation has been harping on ever since it came to power in May 2021. The government’s move to replace ₹ with ‘Ru’ (first letter of the Tamil word roobai for currency) in the logo to be used in Budget documents triggered a row on Thursday. However, the budget documents in English used Rs, while the Tamil version used roobai.
Touching upon the sensitive language issue, over which Tamil Nadu had witnessed at least three massive agitations, Thennarasu said the government has been successfully implementing various student welfare schemes for the past seven years under Samagra Shiksha scheme but the Union Government has withheld the approved amount of Rs 2,152 crore
“Despite this, keeping in mind the welfare of students, the State Government has allocated funds, including salaries of teachers, from its own resources to ensure that the education of Government school students remains unaffected, even in the slightest way.
“Even at this critical juncture, the people of Tamil Nadu have wholeheartedly rallied behind the Hon’ble Chief Minister for upholding the dignity of the State by standing firm on the bilingual policy, even at the cost of foregoing Rs 2,000 crore,” Thennarasu said.
The Finance Minister’s statement comes amid a massive confrontation between the Tamil Nadu and Union governments over the former’s insistence on not implementing the three-language formula. The state government says the two language policy of Tamil and English has been in force in the state since 1968.