TN Forms Committee to 'Protect Rights of States'

Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Tuesday announced a high-level committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to protect the rights of states, a move that comes shortly after the state won a legal battle in the Supreme Court over the powers of the Governor to stall state business (the court effectively ruled that there were none).

- Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI:

The committee will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph to "protect the legitimate rights of the states" as provided in the Constitution and strengthen relationships between the Union and state governments, according to Stalin.

The other two committee members are Ashok Vardhan Shetty, a retired IAS officer and former vice-chancellor of the Indian Maritime University, and M Naganathan, former vice-chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission.

While announcing the composition of the committee, Stalin spoke of Tamil Nadu's opposition to the national medical entrance exam NEET and the National Education Policy (NEP) which mandates a three-language formula.

"We have lost many students due to NEET exam," Stalin said, referring to instances of students from the state dying by suicide after failing to clear NEET. "We have continuously opposed NEET exam. In the name of the three-language policy, the Union government is trying to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu. Since we have denied NEP, ₹2,500 crore to the state has not been released by the Union government."