NEP will not impose Hindi, Tamil Nadu's claim unfounded, political: Education Minister Pradhan

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday asserted that the New Education Policy would not impose Hindi on states and Tamil Nadu's opposition had "political reasons" behind it.

"We have never said in NEP 2020 that only Hindi will be there; we have only said that education will be based on mother tongue, in Tamil Nadu, it will be Tamil," Pradhan told reporters here.

The comments by the Education Minister come amid a tiff between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre over the implementation of NEP and the three-language policy.

"I don't want to answer to the political ambitions of few people. NEP 2020 is focused on different languages of India, be it Hindi, Tamil, Odia, or Punjabi. All the languages have equal importance. In Tamil Nadu, few are opposing because of politics," Pradhan said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had on Friday said it was unnecessary to force any language as a third language in schools in the age of Artificial Intelligence.

"Advanced translation technology already removes language barriers instantly. Students should not be burdened with extra languages," he wrote on X.

The DMK leader also alleged that the BJP insists everyone in north India knows Hindi "to buy tea, pani puri, or use toilets …"