Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Local Self Government Minister K M Shaji on Sunday clarified that he had never said there was nothing wrong with displaying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photograph on houses built under the PMAY, alleging that a section of the media had misreported his remarks.
The IUML leader said his statement was limited to the display of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana emblem and challenged critics to point out any PMAY emblem carrying the Prime Minister's photograph.
"I said there was nothing wrong with displaying the PMAY emblem. But reports appeared claiming that I had said there was nothing wrong with displaying an emblem carrying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photograph," Shaji told reporters here.
Slamming the Opposition LDF, he said denying more than one lakh poor families new houses over what he termed "pseudo-idealism" would be a grave injustice to society.
"When we implement the project, over 1.2 lakh poor families will get new houses. Do not block houses meant for the poor in the name of an emblem. Show me a PMAY emblem carrying the Prime Minister's photograph," he asked.
Clarifying further, Shaji said the scheme was named Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and did not contain the name or photograph of Narendra Modi or any other Prime Minister beyond the official designation.
Targeting the previous CPI(M)-led LDF government, the minister alleged that it had withdrawn from the PMAY agreement not because of ideological reasons but due to its inability to provide the state's financial share.
"The Left government slowly backed out citing ideals when it was actually facing a financial crisis. It was because it could not provide the state's share," he alleged.
He said around Rs 7 lakh was required to construct a house, while the Centre provided only about Rs 4 lakh, making the state's contribution crucial.
"At a time when Kerala is receiving a lower central allocation, why should anyone deny houses to the poor by creating unnecessary controversies," he asked.
Shaji also questioned the Left's opposition to PMAY while naming its own housing scheme after late Marxist stalwart and former Chief Minister E M S Namboodiripad.
"The Left itself added EMS's name to its housing scheme. Isn't that an insult if they now object to the PMAY name? I am not opposing the EMS housing scheme. But those who conceived it should explain why they oppose PMAY," he said.
He further claimed that the previous LDF government had handed over around 1.6 lakh houses under PMAY during its tenure.
"If any of those houses carried the Prime Minister's photograph, I will admit I was wrong. But there is no such photograph anywhere," he said.
Meanwhile, senior CPI(M) leader and former minister A K Balan on Sunday took a dig at Shaji and said he has "changed."
"Shaji has undergone a remarkable change," Balan said in a sarcastic remark while talking to reporters here.
He alleged that Shaji's stand was not in favour of the UDF but the BJP. Neither Shaji nor the UDF would speak out against the Centre, Balan claimed.
On Saturday, Shaji said there was no need to block central funds under PMAY over the issue of displaying the scheme's emblem on houses, asserting that the state government did not want an "unhealthy" relationship with the Centre.
He had maintained that there was nothing wrong with displaying the PMAY emblem if it formed part of the scheme and that welfare benefits should not be viewed through a political lens.
His remarks had triggered criticism from the Students Federation of India (SFI), whose state president M Shivaprasad accused the IUML leader of compromising "minority politics" for power.
