Pinarayi questions UDF’s U-Turn to implement PM SHRI in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan has questioned the UDF government's decision to move ahead with the PM SHRI scheme in Kerala, demanding an explanation for what he described as a complete change in its earlier stand against the programme.

He said the UDF had strongly opposed the scheme before coming to power and must now explain why it has decided to implement it. According to Vijayan, the state government can proceed with the scheme only through a policy decision and should clarify whether the Centre has issued any special communication on the matter.

Rejecting the government's claim that it is bound by a memorandum of understanding signed by the previous LDF government, Vijayan said the argument is factually incorrect. He noted that several Congress-ruled states have implemented PM SHRI without raising objections, and alleged that the Congress supports the scheme nationally and is now trying to implement it in Kerala as well.

Vijayan said the previous LDF government signed the MoU only after funds under the Samagra Shiksha programme were withheld, creating difficulties for the education sector. However, he said no steps were taken to implement PM SHRI after the agreement was signed and that the government later informed the Centre that the process had been frozen.

He argued that signing an MoU alone does not make implementation compulsory and pointed to Punjab, which signed the agreement in 2022 but officially withdrew from the scheme in 2023.

Vijayan also disputed claims that Kerala received PM SHRI funds, stating that the state only received Samagra Shiksha funds and that Parliament had been informed that no PM SHRI funds were released to Kerala.