Govt move to form Cabinet sub-committee on PM SHRI aimed at deceiving CPI: Cong leader Satheesan

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala assembly, V D Satheesan claimed on Thursday that the government's move to form a cabinet sub-committee to examine the PM SHRI scheme after signing its MoU was an attempt to ''deceive'' the ruling LDF constituent CPI.

He argued that the committee should have been formed beforehand.

Satheesan was referring to the CPI(M)-led Left government's decision a day ago to put on hold the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme after facing stiff resistance from its ally, the Communist Party of India (CPI).

The government has also decided to constitute a seven-member cabinet sub-committee to study the implementation of the scheme, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said on Wednesday.

Satheesan claimed that the CPI(M) was ''deceiving'' its coalition partner, the CPI, by such decisions.

''Forming a cabinet sub-committee to study the scheme and its implementation should have been done before signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). They did not do that. What is the point of doing it after signing the MoU. They are just deceiving the CPI,'' the opposition leader contended.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty would be the chairman of the cabinet sub-committee in which ministers K Rajan, P Rajeeve, Roshy Augustine, K Prasad, K Krishnsnkutty and A K Saseendran would be the members.

The government's decision to hold implementation of the scheme and form the sub-committee came in the wake of strong objections from the CPI against the PM SHRI alleging that it would pave the way for the implementation of the RSS agenda in the education sector in the state.

Though the General Education Department had initially justified the signing the MoU to secure central funds, the CPI argued that joining the scheme would be seen as a deviation from the proclaimed policy of the LDF.