Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at the State Secretariat in Chennai on Thursday
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu
The Tamil Nadu government will urge the Union government to swiftly complete caste enumeration as part of the ongoing Population Census, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said in his address to the Assembly on Thursday (June 18, 2026).
“It is a fundamental policy of this government that true social justice lies in every community receiving due representation. After the Union government completes the caste enumeration, the government of Tamil Nadu will conduct a Social Justice Survey,” he said.
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Recalling the resolution adopted by the Assembly in 1968 under the leadership of then Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai that “the three-language formula must be removed and only two languages, Tamil and English, should be taught,” the Governor said the TVK government would continue to adhere to the two-language policy, which has long been accepted by the people of Tamil Nadu.
He also urged the Union government to permit the use of Tamil as the language of pleading in the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench, and to establish a Bench of the Supreme Court in Chennai.
Opposition to NEP
The Governor made it clear that the government would strongly oppose the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
He also described as unacceptable the Union government’s stand that the ₹3,458 crore due to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan would be released only if the three-language formula envisaged under the NEP was implemented.
“This is tantamount to imposing the three-language formula on Tamil Nadu. This government will urge the Union government to reconsider its stand linking the implementation of the three-language formula with the allocation of funds and to immediately release the funds due to Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Pointing out that issues such as the NEET examination, the National Education Policy, and the three-language formula had arisen because education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the Governor said the government would undertake all necessary efforts to move education from the Concurrent List to the State List.
Published – June 18, 2026 12:11 pm IST
