TN CM Stalin forms high-level panel to 'retrieve state rights', seeks education control

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday (15 April ’25) announced in the State Assembly the formation of a high-level committee to provide recommendations and suggestions on state autonomy and the retrieval of state rights. TThe proposed committee will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph and include former IAS officers Ashok Vardhan Shetty and MU Nagarajan. The panel will conduct research and is expected to submit an interim report in January 2026, with the final report due in 2028. To strengthen the relationship between the state and the Union Government, this committee will do research and give recommendations," Mr Stalin said in the Assembly.

Reiterating his opposition to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP), the Chief Minister criticised the Union Government's stance. "We have lost many students due to the NEET exam. We have continuously opposed the NEET exam. In the name of the triple 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," he said.

Mr Stalin further argued that education should be a state subject and called for the reversal of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which placed education in the Concurrent List.

The Chief Minister’s comments come in the backdrop of a Supreme Court judgment criticising Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for withholding assent to ten bills passed by the State Legislature, which were later re-enacted.

On 8 April, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan observed that the Governor must act in aid and advice of the State Legislature. "Action of the Governor to reserve the 10 bills for the President is illegal and arbitrary, and thus the action is set aside. All actions taken by the Governor thereto for the 10 bills are set aside. The 10 bills shall be deemed to be clear from the date it was re-presented to the Governor," the judgement stated.