Row over PM SHRI deepens in Kerala: CPI may skip next cabinet meet

Widening the rift in Kerala’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) government over signing the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme, the meeting between the state’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Binoy Viswam, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Monday (October 27) failed to break the deadlock.

The two leaders met in Alappuzha to settle the escalating rift over the Vijayan government’s decision to green-flag the initiative.

Also read: Why signing PM SHRI does not mean ceding ideological ground

Sources, who confirmed that the conversation ended without a consensus, also said that the state’s CPI ministers are likely to give the next cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday (October 29) a miss as a mark of protest. For the Left supporters in the state, it would ignite a concern ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Signing PM SHRI MoU against LDF's NEP protest, feels CPI

It was learnt that during their meeting, CM Vijayan briefed Viswam on the circumstances that compelled the state government to ink the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union government. The CPI leader, however, made it clear that his party was in no mood to reconcile. The party, which is the second-largest partner in the LDF government after Vijayan’s Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), thinks that giving an assent to the MoU is against the LDF’s stance of opposing the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP).

Also read: Confusion deepens in LDF after Kerala signs PM SHRI deal with Centre

Earlier, the CPI(M) state secretariat met to discuss damage-control measures and decided to delay the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme even after the funds, now withheld by the Union government, are released. The LDF will also form a sub-committee to study how the state can access the funds without compromising its political or ideological position.

The meeting between the chief minister and the CPI state secretary was part of the CPI(M)’s damage-control exercise to contain the growing rift within the Left Front over the matter.

However, soon after the meeting, leaders of the CPI(M) and CPI shared a stage at an event to commemorate the historic Punnapra–Vayalar uprising of 1946, paying tributes to the martyrs.

CPI weighs options to protest

The CPI, which has maintained a firm ideological opposition to the Centre’s education policy framework, was weighing several options to register its protest against the signing of the PM SHRI agreement — including the possibility of withdrawing its ministers from the state cabinet or boycotting its meetings, at least.

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The CPI(M), however, argues that the state government had little choice. With the Union government withholding funds for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme, which could delay salaries of both teaching and non-teaching staff working under centrally sponsored schemes, and disrupt key school programmes such as the noon-meal scheme.

Signing the MoU, therefore, the CPI(M) leadership says, was a practical decision taken to prevent a financial and administrative crisis.

“The SSA is a 60:40 scheme in which the major share is to come from the Union government. But with the BJP government choking funds, citing noncompliance with PM SHRI, we have been forced to run the programme entirely with state resources, which is becoming unsustainable. With elections around the corner, no government can ignore such a crisis,” said the Marxist party’s Rajya Sabha MP, A A Rahim.

Also read: TN vs CENTRE on PM SHRI-NEP intensifies

“Everyone is aware of the drawbacks of the NEP, but we will find a way to work around them. What is certain and clear to everyone, including the CPI, is that we will never allow the Sangh Parivar agenda to enter our classrooms,” he added.

CPI accuses CPI(M) of not consulting

The rift has also widened over what CPI leaders view as unilateral decision-making. They allege that the government did not hold proper consultations before going ahead with the MoU. The CPI(M) leadership, on the other hand, feels the CPI’s reaction has been disproportionate, especially since a similar situation had arisen in higher education last year when Kerala signed the PM-USHA (Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) agreement.

“Under PM-USHA, also part of the NEP-linked framework, Kerala signed an MoU with the Centre last year after the UGC (University Grants Commission) and RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) funds were frozen. The CPI did not oppose the decision then, and the scheme was implemented without allowing any interference in syllabus or curriculum,” said a senior CPI(M) leader.

Citing the precedent, the CPI(M) argues the same safeguards apply to PM SHRI as well.

When PM-USHA was implemented, there had been no political outcry. The higher education reforms went ahead smoothly, and for two years, the system functioned without any issues.

Also read: TN minister Anbil Mahesh denies claims of ‘U-turn’ in PM SHRI Scheme, slams Pradhan

“Just as in PM-USHA, no changes to the syllabus or curriculum will be allowed in school education under PM SHRI,” the leader added.

CPI(M) seeks to avoid collision with ally

Party insiders say the CPI(M) leadership is keen to avoid an open confrontation with the CPI at a time when the LDF is facing mounting political challenges. “The chief minister personally explained that the decision was a compulsion, not a compromise. The focus will be on ensuring the continuation of welfare schemes and avoiding further central funding cuts,” the leader further said.

The controversy erupted after the Union government withheld the SSA grants to Kerala in response to the state’s refusal to sign the PM SHRI MoU earlier.

Also read: Spectre of student-led revolution: Why India must focus on education quality

The coming days will see the Left Front appearing for a crucial test to maintain its cohesion. As the CPI gears up for its state council meeting on November 4, it is learned that the LDF state committee will be convened before that to defuse the tension.

For now, the CPI(M) hopes to convince its allies that signing the PM SHRI MoU was not a policy shift, but a tactical move to keep Kerala’s schools running, a balancing act between principle and governance that has now become a political test for the LDF.