Thiruvananthapuram | The CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala on Wednesday approved an honorarium of Rs one lakh per month for its Cabinet rank special representative and expelled Congress leader K V Thomas, in New Delhi.

The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Besides the honorarium, the Cabinet also allowed Thomas to hire two assistants, one office attendant and one driver.

Thomas was appointed as the Kerala government's special representative in New Delhi after he was sacked by Congress for his alleged anti-party activities.

The Congress had taken the extreme step against former Union Minister Thomas soon after the veteran shared the stage with Vijayan in a by-poll meeting of the Left party-led front in Kochi in May 2022.

The other decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting included allowing continuation of 81 temporary batches in plus one admissions and 30 per cent increase in marginal seats in higher secondary schools in the State in the current academic year.

The Cabinet also sanctioned Rs 8.08 crore for construction of a war memorial in the State capital.