Union Minister Kiren Rijiju defended the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP) on Thursday. He said, "The three-language policy in the National Education Policy is good for the whole country." Rijiju noted that PM Narendra Modi's mother tongue is Gujarati, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's is Odia and his is Arunachali, yet "all work unitedly for India's progress".