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Kozhikode, Oct 22 (IANS) Senior Congress leaders in Kerala on Wednesday strongly opposed the state government’s move to implement the PM-SHRI scheme and warned that it should not be used to further the “political agenda of the BJP”.
He also alleged that the move reflected a tacit understanding between the ruling CPI-M and the BJP.
AICC general secretary KC Venugopal described the state government’s action as part of broader coordination between the two parties.
“When one considers the concealment of the Enforcement Directorate notice against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s son and the repeated transfer of the Lavalin case to the Supreme Court, this appears to be part of this understanding,” Venugopal said.
He criticized CPI-M for implementing the PM-SHRI scheme away from the declared policy guidelines.
“The PM-SHRI scheme was implemented in 2021 under the BJP government in Karnataka, not the Congress government, and in Telangana it was not implemented during the Congress rule,” he said.
Venugopal also criticized the central government’s education stance, questioning the proposal to make students study Nathuram Godse instead of Mahatma Gandhi.
He asked whether the Rs 1,400 crore allocated for the scheme could be aimed at implementing this agenda, and sought clarity on the CPI-M’s reversal from its earlier stand despite CPI’s opposition.
Expressing similar concerns, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the state should not succumb to the political agenda of the BJP while implementing the scheme.
He said, “The money provided by the Center for the progress of Kerala is our tax contribution. This money is our right, and no conditions should be imposed.”
Joseph also pointed to the apparent schism within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and said the Congress would closely monitor whether the CPI continues to oppose the plan.
Earlier in the day, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam held a closed-door meeting with four CPI ministers, and directed them to raise the matter in the weekly cabinet meeting.
CPI ministers raised the issue in the meeting but Chief Minister Vijayan and Education Minister V. Shivankutty refrained from commenting.
CPI leaders expressed dissatisfaction that the matter was not discussed in the broader LDF meeting and came to light only after the Education Minister announced Kerala’s decision to go ahead with the PM-SHRI programme.
–IANS
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