Tamil Nadu vs Centre; Parliament in turmoil over three-language formula; proceedings disrupted

NEW DELHI: The first day of the second phase of the Budget Session was filled with uproar over the trilingual scheme, duplication of voter ID cards and errors in the voter list. 'The Bills of Lading Bill' related to the shipping sector was passed in the Lok Sabha and the Railway Amendment Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha.

The uproar in the Lok Sabha began when DMK MP Dr. T. Sumathy alleged that the Centre had refused education funds because Tamil Nadu did not cooperate with the National Education Scheme. It was also alleged that the Centre was taking revenge by not releasing the share of Rs 2000 crore related to the PM SHRI scheme.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan replied that the Tamil Nadu government, which initially agreed to sign the PM SHRI MoU, later backed out. However, Sumathy said that the state had never supported it. "Chief Minister Stalin never accepted the three-language formula. Education is a state subject. This is an attack on the federal structure."

Dharmendra Pradhan alleged that the Tamil Nadu stand was uncivilized and that the DMK government was harming students. Enraged by this, DMK members went to the central hall and protested. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned till noon. When it reconvened later, the Speaker said that the minister's words had been removed from the record, but the uproar continued. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said that the DMK was raising these issues out of fear of losing the elections.
The basis of the dispute is the opposition to the new education scheme, arguing that it is a ploy to impose Hindi.