Amid the ongoing debate on the alleged ‘imposition of languages’ in southern states, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking implementation of the three-language formula proposed by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.

Seeking direction to the state governments to implement the National Education Policy and sign an MoU, the PIL by BJP leader and lawyer GS Mani says refusal or failure of the state government to implement the National Educational Policy of the Central government or sign an MoU may harm the public interest or infringe on citizens’ rights.

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“The state government is under a Constitutional or legal obligation to implement the National Educational Policy, 2020 of the Central government and to enter into an MoU for the implementation of the said policy, scheme, or project,” the PIL petitioner has said.

All state governments except Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal have adopted and implemented the Central government’s most important national education policy, the tri-language curriculum policy, advocate Mani said.

The PIL says that the National Education Policy has been brought by the Central government with the aim of improving the quality of school education for students from all walks of life. “All Indian languages should be taught free of cost to school children belonging to the poor, scheduled, tribes, backward, and the most backward classes children,” the petition added.

The petition said that the state governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal are refusing to accept the three-language formula for political reasons, citing the false reason for imposing Hindi.

Stating that the Central government’s laws, plans, and policies are applicable to all the state governments, the petition further said that it is the duty of the state government to implement such a policy and this is a fundamental duty and right given in the Constitution.

“Free education is a fundamental right given by the Constitution. By refusing to accept this plan, the state government is denying the fundamental right of free education to the school children concerned. Therefore, the Supreme Court should intervene in this matter and issue an order to these three state governments to immediately implement the Central government’s National Education Policy,” added the PIL.

While the Centre defended the policy as a step towards multilingualism, Tamil Nadu said that it unfairly pressures non-Hindi-speaking states.

The Tamil Nadu government has accused the Central government of trying to push Hindi “sideways” through the NEP, despite the state’s longstanding resistance to such policies.

The Tamil Nadu government has strongly opposed implementing the NEP, raising concern over the three-language formula and alleging that the Centre wants to “impose” Hindi.