Thiruvananthapuram | Senior IUML leader and Kerala Minister P K Kunhalikutty on Friday contradicted UDF Convener Adoor Prakash's claim that the ruling front had decided to proceed with the Centre's PM SHRI scheme, saying the issue was not discussed at the ruling bloc' meeting.
The government would take a decision only after a cabinet subcommittee submits its report, he told reportets here.
Rejecting media reports of differences between the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) over the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme, Kunhalikutty, state minister for Industries, Commerce, IT and AI said there was no discussion on the matter at Thursday's UDF meeting.
"The UDF meeting did not discuss the PM SHRI issue. A cabinet subcommittee is examining the matter. Both the government and the UDF will respond after the panel submits its report," he said.
He said the previous Left government had signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre after stating in the Assembly that it was necessary to secure funds due to the state.
"It was the LDF government that signed the agreement. Whether the state can withdraw from it can be decided only after the subcommittee submits its report," he said.
Kunhalikutty, however, asserted that Kerala would not accept any conditions imposed by the Centre regarding the school curriculum or the selection of institutions under the scheme.
"Under no circumstances will Kerala implement the Centre's conditions relating to the curriculum or the selection of schools. If such a situation arises, we will decide then," he said.
Dismissing reports suggesting that the UDF had taken a decision on the issue, Kunhalikutty said they were "completely baseless".
He also said Prakash had merely responded to a question from reporters in his own way and that the UDF had not formally discussed the issue.
Kunhalikutty's remarks came a day after Prakash said the UDF had concluded that the state could not withdraw from implementing the PM SHRI scheme as the previous LDF government had already signed the agreement with the Centre.
Speaking to reporters after the UDF meeting chaired by Chief Minister V D Satheesan, Prakash had said the government, being a continuation of the previous administration, could not back out of the scheme.
He had also said the state would retain the power to decide which schools would implement the scheme, their curriculum and the utilisation of the funds, while ensuring that Kerala received the financial assistance due from the Centre.
Meanwhile, Prakash on Friday retracted his earlier stand that the state would move forward with the PM SHRI scheme.
Speaking to reporters in Pathanamthitta, he said he had never stated that the government would go ahead with the PM SHRI scheme and that further action would be decided based on the report of the cabinet-appointed subcommittee.
His clarification came soon after Kunhalikutty publicly contradicted him on the issue.
"The next course of action will be based on the subcommittee's report. The state has differences of opinion with the Centre on certain matters, and the PM SHRI scheme is one of them," he said.
Decisions regarding the PM SHRI scheme will be taken on the basis of the subcommittee's report, he said, adding that the UDF meeting did not hold any separate discussion on the PM SHRI scheme.
"There was no dispute over the issue. I never said that we would move forward with the PM SHRI scheme," Prakash said.
The PM SHRI scheme was launched by the Centre to upgrade selected government schools into model institutions.
The previous LDF government had signed an MoU with the Centre to implement the scheme, but later kept its rollout in abeyance following protests from the then Opposition UDF and sections within the Left Democratic Front, including the CPI.