Kerala govt to decide on PM SHRI scheme later today, says Minister Sivankutty
Amid CPI’s opposition and reports of internal dissent, Kerala’s cabinet is set to decide whether to proceed with or halt the PM SHRI MoU
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 29 (PTI) Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Wednesday said the LDF government's decision regarding the Centre's PM SHRI scheme would be announced after the cabinet meeting scheduled for later in the day.
Responding to questions from reporters, Sivankutty said he was unaware whether the Left government—which recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to join the central scheme—had decided to halt its implementation following strong opposition from the CPI, a key partner in the ruling LDF.
"The government will announce the decision. It is expected to be revealed in the cabinet meeting. The chief minister (Pinarayi Vijayan) and prominent leaders of the LDF will talk about it. How can I say anything before that?" the minister said.
His remarks came amid reports that the Pinarayi Vijayan government had decided to put the PM SHRI scheme on hold, yielding to pressure from the CPI.
Multi-level discussions involving CPI(M) and CPI leaders, convened by the CM over the past few days, were held to reach a consensus on the issue.
Despite Vijayan's intervention, the deadlock reportedly remained unresolved, with both the state and national leadership of the CPI maintaining a firm stance against Kerala's participation in the PM SHRI scheme.
A section of the media also reported that CPI ministers might skip the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Vijayan as a mark of protest.
The Left parties have opposed the Union government's National Education Policy (NEP) and the PM SHRI scheme since their inception, alleging that both are part of a larger RSS-backed agenda to influence the education system.
The CPI's primary contention is that the state government signed the MoU without any cabinet discussion and that the party came to know of it only through media reports.
Sivankutty, however, had earlier maintained that the MoU was signed to access central education funds and assured that there would be no changes to the state's school curriculum. PTI