Chennai, Jun 7 (IANS): The founder leader of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), S. Ramadoss, has called upon the Tamil Nadu government to bring in a legislation to make Tamil the compulsory medium of instruction in schools across the state.

The PMK leader said that Section (F) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 says that "Mother tongue must be the medium of instruction as far as practicable".

In a statement released here on Monday, Ramadoss called upon the state government to bring in an amendment to remove the "as far as practicable" phrase in Section (F) of the RTE Act and send it for approval to the President of India.

He urged the state government to bring in a legislation making Tamil as a compulsory medium of instruction in a phased manner and pass the legislation in the first session of the Assembly.

The PMK leader also welcomed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's statement that he would work hard to get official language status for all languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution, including Tamil.

Ramadoss also said that the state government should ensure that the high courts and the Supreme Court accept the government's legislation to make Tamil a compulsory medium of instruction.