Kerala to review implementation of PM SHRI, Centre to be informed

Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government will review the implementation of the Centre's PM SHRI scheme in the state in the wake of controversies and concerns that have come up in this regard, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Wednesday.

He said a seven-member Cabinet sub-committee has been constituted to study the implementation of the central school scheme.

The CM's announcement follows strong objections from the CPI, a key LDF ally, against the PM SHRI alleging that it would pave the way for the implementation of the RSS agenda in the education sector in the state.

Though the government had initially justified the signing of MoU to secure central funds, the CPI argued that joining the scheme would be seen as a deviation from the proclaimed policy of the LDF.

With the latest decision of the government, the days-long political uncertainty within the Left front has been resolved.

"Taking into account the controversies and concerns that have arisen over the signing of the memorandum of understanding related to the PM SHRI scheme, the government has decided to conduct a review before proceeding with its implementation," Vijayan told reporters here.

The further proceedings with regard to its implementation would be put on hold until the subcommittee submits its report, he said while briefing the media about the decisions taken during the cabinet meeting here.

"This will be communicated to the Centre through a letter," Vijayan said.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty would be the chairman of the cabinet sub-committee in which ministers K Rajan, P Rajeeve, Roshy Augustine, K Prasad, K Krishnsnkutty and A K Saseendran would be the members, the CM added.

Earlier, multi-level talks were held by CPI (M) and CPI leaders under the aegis of Vijayan for the past few days to arrive at a consensus on the matter.

Though CM Vijayan directly intervened in the matter, the deadlock could not be resolved, as the state and national leadership of the CPI have taken a strong stand against Kerala joining the PM SHRI.

Despite repeated queries from the media, the Chief Minister declined to elaborate on the government's decision to temporary withdrawal.

"Anyways, we have taken a stand now. So, it is better not to go into other details at present. What we should be discussing is that the issue has ended. We have now appointed a committee to examine it and till the committee submits its report, all works related to PM Shri will be on hold," he said.

He assured that the panel would submit its report at the earliest, but didn't provide any timeline.

Responding to claims that the MoU was signed after his meeting with the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister, Vijayan said that the opposition have been trying to level such baseless allegations.

"They have been continuously making such allegations, and they cannot stop it. What they aim for is to destroy the increasing faith the public has in the government. But unfortunately for them, the public are not buying it. The attempts to tag us with communal forces are not going to succeed so easily," the CM said.

Vijayan, however, reiterated his government's stand on the National Education Policy (NEP), saying that there is no need for any confusion on this.

"NEP tried to push the RSS agenda, and that is why they tried to portray Gandhi's assassination in a different way. What we did was we included those portions and printed them in our textbooks. We will continue to adopt that stance, and there will be no deviation," Vijayan added.

Earlier in the day, speculations were rife that CPI ministers may skip the weekly cabinet meeting being chaired by CM Vijayan, for exerting pressure on the state government to withdraw from the PM SHRI MoU.

A series of meetings were also held between top leaders of the CPI (M) and CPI to arrive at a consensus over the matter.

After hours-long meetings, CPI general secretary D Raja told reporters in New Delhi that the discussions have been positive and the party's ministers would take part in the cabinet meeting in Kerala.

All four ministers attended the weekly cabinet meeting here, as mentioned by Raja, indicating an amicable political settlement of the issue.

On Monday, talks between CM Vijayan and CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam held in Alappuzha had failed to resolve the dispute.

The Left parties have opposed the union government's National Education Policy (NEP) and the PM SHRI scheme since their introduction, alleging that they are part of the RSS's larger agenda to influence the education system.

The CPI's main contention is that the state government signed the MoU without any discussion in the Cabinet and that the party learned about it only through media reports.

However, state General Education Minister V Sivankutty had maintained that the MoU was signed to avail the Centre's education funds and assured that there would be no changes to the state's school curriculum.