I trust John Brittas more than Dharmendra Pradhan, says CPI’s Binoy Viswam over his role in PM-SHRI

Communist Party of India (CPI) Kerala State secretary Binoy Viswam has said he does not trust Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s words related to the involvement of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas in the signing of the PM-SHRI (Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India) scheme by the Kerala government.

Addressing a ‘meet-the-leader’ event organised by the Calicut Press Club in Kozhikode on Thursday (December 4, 2025), Mr. Viswam said that Mr. Brittas had spoken to Mr. Pradhan not on the PM-SHRI scheme, but over the withholding of Central funds under the Samagra Shiksha project.

During a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on December 3, Mr. Pradhan had said that though Kerala initially agreed to sign the memorandum of understanding on the PM-SHRI scheme, it did not implement the scheme later owing to “internal conflict in the ruling alliance.” The State government had to put the implementation of the scheme on hold in the wake of stiff resistance from the CPI. Mr. Pradhan had also claimed that Mr. Brittas “mediated between the State and the Union governments” and “created the bridge” between the two.

Asked about Mr. Pradhan’s statement, Mr. Viswam said that the Union Minister was a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). “I trust Mr. Brittas more than Mr. Pradhan, who will speak only for the RSS. When I spoke to Mr. Brittas today, he told me that the conversation between him and Mr. Pradhan revolved around the denial of funds under the Samagra Shiksha project,” Mr. Viswam said.