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Kerala government may ‘temporarily freeze’ implementation of PM SHRI scheme Though some quarters confirm that the government has already frozen all formalities related to the scheme, the CPI(M) and the LDF are yet to make an official announcement. Synopsis: The move comes after four CPI ministers — K Rajan, P Prasad, G R Anil, and J Chinchurani — reportedly decided to boycott cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 29 October, in protest against the state government’s decision to sign the National Education Policy (NEP)-linked PM-SHRI agreement without consulting the LDF or the cabinet. Reports emerging from Thiruvananthapuram indicate that the Kerala government may “temporarily freeze” the implementation of the Centre’s PM SHRI scheme following strong opposition from the Communist Party of India (CPI), a key ally in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). The move comes after four CPI ministers — K Rajan, P Prasad, G R Anil, and J Chinchurani — reportedly decided to boycott cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 29 October, in protest against the state government’s decision to sign the National Education Policy (NEP)-linked PM-SHRI agreement without consulting the LDF or the cabinet. Top CPI(M) leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, party general secretary M.A. Baby, state secretary M.V. Govindan, and LDF convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan, held a closed-door meeting at the AKG Centre on Wednesday to defuse the crisis. It’s said Govindan even skipped official events in Kannur to attend the emergency talks — a sign of the gravity of the situation. Sources suggest that the CPI(M) leadership is considering a “face-saving” formula, possibly by putting the PM-SHRI implementation on hold and writing to the Union government seeking relaxations in the scheme’s conditions, which the LDF views as incompatible with the state’s education policy. Though some quarters confirm that the government has already frozen all formalities related to the scheme, the CPI(M) and the LDF are yet to make an official announcement. Meanwhile, the CPI’s State Secretary has convened at M.N. Smarakam to assess the political situation, which has exposed rare cracks within the LDF over the NEP-linked central initiative worth an estimated ₹1,446 crore. An official announcement regarding the meetings are awaited. Another conciliatory formula that’s under consideration is the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee which will include CPI ministers may also came into being in connection with PM SHRI implementation in the state. Also Read: CPI to boycott cabinet meeting amid PM-SHRI row A storm has been raging in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala ever since the state General Education Secretary K Vasuki signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Government to implement PM-SHRI on 23 October. General Education Minister V Sivankutty said the state joined the PM-SHRI scheme only to avoid losing about ₹1,500 crore in central aid. He explained that the Centre had withheld Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) — a flagship central program supporting school education — funds over the state’s earlier refusal to join the scheme. Sivankutty added that 165 schools have been selected and clarified that Kerala will continue to use its own textbooks, a concern many had expressed. It was widely feared that the PM-SHRI scheme would push Hindutva ideology in schools. Also Read: PM-SHRI MoU rekindles the CPI–CPI(M) cold war in Kerala (Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
