Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 15: In a significant move, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced in the state assembly on Tuesday that a high-level committee will be set up to provide recommendations on enhancing state autonomy and “retrieving state rights.” The committee will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph, alongside former IAS officers Ashok Vardan Shetty and Mu Nagarajan.
The committee will conduct research and is expected to submit an interim report to the state government by January 2026, with the final report slated for completion by 2028. “This committee will work to strengthen the relationship between the state and the Union Government, conducting research and providing valuable recommendations,” CM Stalin stated in the Assembly.
During his speech, CM Stalin also reiterated his opposition to the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) and the National Education Policy’s (NEP) three-language formula. He criticized NEET, claiming that it has led to several student suicides. “We have lost many students due to the NEET exam. We have continuously opposed it. The Union Government is also trying to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu through the triple language policy,” he remarked. Stalin also claimed that the Union Government has withheld Rs 2500 crore in funds due to the state’s rejection of NEP.
The Chief Minister further emphasized that education should remain a state subject, calling for the reversal of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which moved education to the Concurrent List.
Stalin’s comments come in the wake of a Supreme Court judgment on April 8, which deemed the actions of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi to be “illegal and erroneous in law.” The Supreme Court had ruled that the Governor’s decision to withhold assent to ten bills passed by the state legislature was arbitrary, ordering that the bills be considered as cleared from the date they were re-presented to him.