The Union government's attempt to make three languages in school mandatory has not found approval with the political leaders in Tamil Nadu. Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani had recently made an announcement that Sanskrit would be made available as a third language in all the CBSE and ICSE schools in India.

According to The New Indian Express, DMK leader Karunanidhi has stated that the Modi government has been trying to impose Sanskrit in schools since it came to power in 2014. In a statement, he said, "Having discussions only at the ministerial-level regarding decisions like this of national importance involving non-Hindi speaking states is condemnable and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should intervene and ensure that linguistic diversity is preserved."

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has also denounced this, said the daily. He reportedly said that a third language should remain optional and it should be up to the children to learn a language, like how it was currently. He also stated that the MHRD ministry had been trying to impose Sanskrit through various ways including Sanskrit week celebrations, making it part of the university syllabus, etc. He felt that students would suffer.

The report adds that GK Vasan of the Tamil Manila Congress has also opposed this move. He felt that the MHRD has several other issues to be resolved like improving college infrastructure, preventing commercialisation of education and filling up teacher vacancies. He asked that the Centre retract the decision.