Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has set up a high-level committee – under retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Kurien Joseph – to recommend measures on state autonomy with a view to protect state governments’ rights and improve working relations with the union government.
The committee has also been tasked with recommending measures to retrieve state subjects moved to the concurrent list; i.e., to return areas of governance and policy-making that were once left to state governments but are now jointly administered by the state and centre.
The committee is expected to assess and evaluate laws without affecting the integrity of the union of states that makes up India. An interim report is due by January 2026 with a final submission in two years.
This is significant given the fierce stand-off between Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK and the BJP-led central government over education, including the state’s push to exempt itself from the contentious (and centrally-administered) NEET exam for admission to medical courses.
Another major point of contention between the Tamil Nadu government and the centre is the three-language formula in the National Education Policy, which has triggered a ‘Hindi imposition’ row.
