New Delhi [India], March 7: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday strongly opposed any proposal to penalize states that have effectively implemented family planning measures, specifically in the context of delimitation and the language policy. He also highlighted the importance of respecting linguistic diversity and rejected any form of “linguistic imperialism.”
Ramesh emphasized that states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which were early pioneers in achieving population stabilization, should not be disadvantaged in terms of parliamentary seat allocation. He said, “No state should be penalized for its success in family planning. Kerala and Tamil Nadu – the South Indian states were the first states in India to have success in family planning. The first success was in Kerala. It reached replacement levels of fertility in 1988. Tamil Nadu reached it in 1993.”
Ramesh further criticized the idea of rewarding states that have not prioritized family planning by disproportionately increasing their parliamentary seats. “States that have not taken family planning seriously should not be rewarded disproportionately in terms of increases in seats,” he stated.
On the topic of the three-language policy, Ramesh emphasized the need to respect all languages, citing India’s rich linguistic diversity. “We respect all languages. We must respect all languages. And of course, there are 22 official languages in Schedule 8 of the Constitution, but there are so many languages. India is a multi-linguistic country. Our unity comes from our diversity,” he said.
The Congress leader’s remarks come amid ongoing debate between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and the central government over both delimitation and the three-language policy. Stalin, in his letter to fellow Chief Ministers, expressed concern that the proposed delimitation exercise could diminish the influence of states like Tamil Nadu, which have successfully controlled their population. He described the exercise as a “blatant assault on federalism” and warned of the negative consequences for states that have made strides in population control.
Stalin also voiced opposition to the central government’s efforts to push Hindi through the National Education Policy (NEP), despite longstanding resistance in Tamil Nadu.