India, Feb. 17 -- Temporarily setting aside their differences, political parties in Tamil Nadu, with the sole exception of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have strongly criticised the statement of Union minister for education Dharmendra Pradhan saying that the state will not receive funding until it agrees to the National Education Policy (NEP) and adopts the three-language formula making Hindi compulsory.

In a social media post, chief minister MK Stalin strongly criticised Pradhan's remarks, stating that Tamils will not tolerate such "rash blackmail." He warned that Delhi might have to confront the "unique nature" of Tamils, if the state is denied funding for its comprehensive education programme.

Stalin challenged Pradhan's assertio...