Tiruvallur: In a dramatic escalation of his protest, Congress Member of Parliament from Tiruvallur, Sasikanth Senthil, was admitted to Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital on the fourth day of an indefinite hunger strike. His deteriorating health condition prompted doctors to urgently transfer him for advanced medical care. The MP’s protest centers on demanding the immediate release of Rs 2,152 crore in education funds that he claims the central government has unlawfully withheld from Tamil Nadu, potentially affecting the education of 43 lakh students and the livelihoods of 2.2 lakh teachers across the state.

The protest, which began at the Congress office Rajiv Bhavan in Tiruvallur, has gained significant political attention, with Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi personally calling Senthil to express solidarity. The MP has framed his fast as a last resort against what he characterizes as the BJP-led central government’s financial coercion to impose the New Education Policy and three-language formula on Tamil Nadu, bypassing the state’s traditional two-language policy and educational autonomy.

Systematic Obstacles and Denied Dialogue

Sasikanth Senthil’s protest highlights broader concerns about federal overreach in education policy. In his public statements, the MP detailed what he described as a consistent pattern of the Union government creating barriers to Tamil Nadu’s educational progress. He specifically cited the imposition of national entrance examinations like NEET and CUET, which he argues are fundamentally misaligned with the state’s educational interests and disproportionately disadvantage students from rural and economically weak backgrounds.

The MP further revealed that his attempts to pursue diplomatic channels were systematically thwarted. He disclosed that he had formally requested a meeting with the Union Education Minister on three separate occasions and had written multiple letters regarding the fund release, all of which went unanswered. This complete breakdown in communication, Senthil asserted, left him with no democratic avenue except to undertake this extreme form of protest to draw attention to the crisis facing Tamil Nadu’s educational system.

Health Deterioration and Rising Political Support

As the hunger strike entered its third day, medical professionals from Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital grew increasingly concerned about Senthil’s deteriorating physical condition. After continuous monitoring, doctors made the clinical decision to transfer him via emergency 108 ambulance to the superior facilities at Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Chennai for specialized care and ongoing observation.

சமக்ர சிக்க்ஷா அபியான் (SSA) திட்டத்தின் மூலம் தமிழகத்திற்கு வரவேண்டிய நிதியை விடுவிக்க கோரி ஒன்றிய பாஜக அரசை கண்டித்து திருவள்ளூர் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் திரு சசிகாந்த் செந்தில் அவர்கள் சாகும் வரை உண்ணாவிரதம் மேற்கொண்டு வருகிறார். அதன்படி மருத்துவமனையிலேயே மூன்றாவது நாளாக… pic.twitter.com/Fvqz9p5cyR

— Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (@INCTamilNadu) September 1, 2025

Before his hospitalization, Senthil remained steadfast in his commitment, stating that his protest was fundamentally about securing the educational future of Tamil Nadu’s millions of students. He emphasized that the withholding of funds represented an “anti-student attitude” by the central government that risked shattering the educational dreams of an entire generation.