As Kerala CPI-M blinks on PM SHRI scheme, fault lines emerge within LDF

A day after General Education Department Secretary K Vasuki signed the MoU with the Union Ministry, the CPI said the party and other allies were kept in the dark on the crucial matter.

After a meeting of the party state secretariat, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam told reporters, “The signing of the MoU is a violation of the decorum of coalition politics. It is not the democratic way, and this style should be corrected. The state executive will meet on October 27 to take an appropriate decision. The issue has never been discussed in the cabinet, and the allies have been kept in the dark,” he said.

Justifying the move, Sivankutty said, “We cannot cling to the same policy always. This is a tactical decision to overcome the Centre’s move to financially stifle Kerala by withholding funds. The government will not allow any move to shatter the public education system, and at the same time, we will not allow the loss of a single rupee due to our children,” he said.

To counter criticism that the scheme would pave the way for communalisation of education, the minister said, “Kerala will continue to fight against the Union government’s policy to implement the RSS agenda through education. There will be no compromise on the secular, scientific, and democratic content that is the backbone of the state’s public education,” he said.

Although the CPI — often seen as a corrective force within the LDF — protested CPI(M)’s unilateral decision on PM SHRI, the larger ally showed no sign of backing down. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan told the media the signing of the MoU was an administrative decision. “The Left has a policy, but do not misunderstand that this is a government that implements Left policy. We have several limitations in implementing it,” he said.