Supreme Court
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked both the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government “not to make it into a language issue” while hearing the state’s plea challenging a Madras high court order directing it to establish Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools.The observation was made by a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan after senior counsel P Wilson, appearing for the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, argued that the Centre should adopt a two-language formula in line with the state’s policy instead of the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.As the Centre’s counsel began to respond, the bench urged both parties to refrain from turning the matter into a language issue.“Don’t make it into a language issue. We are a federal society. You are part of the Republic. If you come one step forward, they will also come one step forward. We are concerned with rural students getting an education. The directions were passed only in the interest of students who are entitled to be admitted to such schools,” Justice Nagarathna said.She was referring to a direction issued by the Supreme Court earlier during the hearing asking the state to ascertain the extent of land required for establishing JNVs. The bench further suggested that the Tamil Nadu government could place its two-language policy before the Centre, which could then consider it, instead of both sides sparring over the issue.“You can’t have this ‘my state, my state’ approach. This attitude must go. You come one step forward, they will also come one step forward,” the court remarked.The bench also observed that the state government should view the move as an “opportunity rather than an imposition.”“Don’t take it as an imposition; it is an opportunity for your students. You can say this is our language policy, and they cannot discredit your policy,” Justice Nagarathna noted.(With ANI inputs)