PM-SHRI scheme: Kerala’s Opposition accuses CPI(M) of bowing to Centre’s pressure

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D Satheesan has accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of capitulating to the Centre’s “coercive demand” that the State implement the “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-inspired and politically primed” PM-SHRI scheme to release obligatory Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds for school education. 

Mr. Satheesan told a press conference in Ernakulam on Friday that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had bowed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pressure and signed on to the scheme, which he stated was inextricably tied to the “anti-federal, communally divisive and patently centrist” National Education Policy (NEP). 

“Mr. Vijayan has betrayed the national cause against NEP. He has violated coalition ethics by keeping the Communist Party of India (CPI), a key LDF ally, in the dark about the questionable decision. Mr. Vijayan did not table the matter in the Cabinet. He did not consult the Opposition. He violated the CPI(M)’s national line against PM-SHRI and NEP. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty and the CPI(M)‘s State leadership played second fiddle”, he stated.

‘Education in concurrent list’

Mr. Satheesan noted that education was in the concurrent list. “The Right to Education Act mandated unconditional release of SSA funds to States. The allocation is not the Centre’s charity. It is the right of States, which contribute immensely to the Central government-administered divisible pool of taxes. Linking Centre’s educational grants to politically loaded PM-SHRI and NEP is anti-federal”, he said.

Mr. Satheesan said the CPI(M) has “sparked a mutiny” in the ruling coalition by giving short shrift to objections raised by the CPI and later, the RJD. “CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan had denied the very existence of the CPI”, he said. 

Mr. Satheesan said PM-SHRI and NEP were RSS’ “ideological project to infuse majoratarian nationalism” into students. “Congress governments in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana had accepted SSA funds owed to the States without signing on to PM-SHRI or agreeing to implement the NEP”, he said. 

‘CPI’s choice on alliance’

When asked whether the UDF would open its doors for the CPI if the latter quits the LDF, Mr. Satheesan replied: “It’s a hypothetical question. The CPI is a legacy Left party with its historical credibility. It is for the CPI to decide its future course of action”, he added.