A rift has emerged within the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala after the state government signed an agreement with the Centre to join the PM SHRI school scheme on Thursday.
The CPI, a key partner in the LDF, publicly criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government for signing the MoU and went into a huddle at its state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Speculation was rife that the four CPI ministers in the cabinet offered to step down in protest. The party believes that the PM SHRI initiative would compel the state to adopt the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Realising the CPI’s unwavering stand on the issue, the CPM initiated damage-control measures in the absence of Vijayan, who is on an official tour to West Asia. The CPM state secretariat members met at their party headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Following the meeting, CPM state secretary M.V. Govindan told reporters that Kerala was entitled to funds under the PM SHRI project and the Centre must release the money without imposing conditions that undermined the state’s fiscal autonomy.
The clarification, however, didn’t cut ice with the CPI, which decided to boycott the weekly cabinet meetings on Wednesdays.
CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam claimed that the cabinet was unaware of the MoU signed by general education secretary K. Vasuki. “Why this unusual haste, and for what? This is the question on everyone’s minds,” he said.
LDF convener T.P. Ramakrishan later told reporters in Kozhikode that the CPM would hold talks with the CPI after October 29, when Vijayan returns to Kerala.
CPI general secretary D. Raja said he had written to his CPM counterpart M.A. Baby, urging him to cancel the MoU but didn’t get any response.
General education minister V. Sivankutty slammed the CPI and emphasised collective responsibility in a coalition government.
The Kerala Students Union (Congress), Muslim Students Federation (IUML) and All India Students Federation (CPI) held protest rallies in various districts across the state on Friday.
