Kerala’s PM SHRI row: Former minister Sivankutty hits back at ex-CM Vijayan’s aide

Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 (IANS) Kerala’s former General Education Minister V. Sivankutty on Monday mounted a strong defence of the previous LDF government’s stand on the PM SHRI school scheme, rejecting as factually incorrect the contention by former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Additional Private Secretary Ratheesh Kaliyadan that the state cannot unilaterally withdraw from the scheme after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Sivankutty said there was no need for anyone to consult the former Chief Minister’s Additional Private Secretary on the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme.

He alleged that Kaliyadan’s remarks would only benefit the UDF-BJP alliance and even questioned whether the statement had been made in anticipation of securing a position under the present UDF government.

Such statements, he said, reflected the mindset of opportunistic officials.

The former minister maintained that the LDF government’s position on the PM SHRI scheme and the legal validity of the MoU had been repeatedly explained both inside and outside the Assembly by former Chief Minister and current Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan as well as by himself during his tenure as Education Minister.

Sivankutty categorically rejected Kaliyadan’s argument that signing the MoU legally prevented Kerala from exiting the scheme.

The state, he said, retained every right not to implement the project.

He asserted that although the agreement had been signed, the LDF government neither proceeded with the scheme’s implementation nor accepted Central funds under it.

His remarks came in response to an article by Kaliyadan.

In the article, the former bureaucrat described Kerala’s signing of the MoU without Cabinet discussion as a defect and argued that the agreement vested the authority to terminate it with the Union Ministry of Education after a 30-day notice period, making unilateral withdrawal by the state legally untenable.

He nevertheless suggested that the present V.D. Satheesan government could continue the LDF’s political stand of not implementing the scheme despite the MoU.

Sivankutty also dismissed claims that Kerala had received Rs 92.41 crore under the PM SHRI scheme, stating that the amount represented expenditure already incurred by the state between 2023-24 and 2025-26 under the Right to Education Act and could not be projected as scheme assistance.

Sivankutty’s response comes at a time when the present V.D.Satheesan cabinet has appointed a cabinet sub-committee to look into the PM-SHRI programme and what needs to be done, in the wake of the Vijayan government inking the agreement as propagated by the Satheesan government.

Turning his attention to the BJP, Sivankutty demanded a comprehensive police investigation into alleged financial irregularities reported during the party’s Assembly election campaign, including purported embezzlement in helicopter and vehicle rentals and alleged irregularities in a Rs 3.5-crore contract for manufacturing one crore party flags.

He said the allegations involved public money and contributions from party workers and deserved a thorough probe.

–IANS

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