Thiruvananthapuram | Facing strong resistance from its major coalition partner, the CPI, the CPI(M)-led Left government in Kerala on Wednesday decided to put on hold the implementation of the Centre’s PM SHRI scheme in the state, days after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard in New Delhi.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Announcing the decision to review the implementation of the scheme, the Chief Minister said it was made in view of the controversies and concerns that had arisen over the matter.
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 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 General Education Department 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.
The latest decision has eased the political uncertainty within the Left Front.
"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 temporarily withdraw.
"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.
However, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan accused CM Vijayan of "running away" without answering the crucial questions regarding the signing of the PM SHRI scheme.
The setting up of the cabinet sub-committee was just a "face-saving drama" and the CPI has been cleverly deceived by the Chief Minister, he alleged in a statement.
The LoP sought to know why the CM was scared of clearly saying whether the government would withdraw from the scheme or not.
"The Cabinet sub-committee should have been formed before signing the agreement. What is the point in forming the panel after signing it? Without even specifying the term of the sub-committee, the Chief Minister has cleverly deceived the CPI," he alleged.
Satheesan further alleged that the BJP has more influence within the Left front than the CPI itself.
From the very beginning, the LDF government’s stance on the PM SHRI scheme has been suspicious, the Congress leader added.
