Crucial day for Kerala's Left parties over PM SHRI row

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 27 (IANS) Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) allies, the CPI and the CPI(M), will hold crucial meetings on Monday to defuse the escalating rift over the signing of the PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s School for Rising India) agreement with the Centre.

The controversy erupted late last week after it emerged that the Kerala government had signed the Memorandum of Understanding for implementing the PM SHRI scheme -- a Central initiative aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) -- without the concurrence of key LDF partners.

The CPI, the LDF’s second-largest constituent, publicly alleged that the agreement was inked without its knowledge, accusing the CPI(M) of unilateral decision-making.

The CPI’s national leadership has reportedly conveyed its strong displeasure to the CPI(M) central committee, terming the move a breach of coalition ethics.

In response, the CPI(M) has convened an emergency meeting of its state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday morning to review the situation and address the dissent.

The CPI’s state executive is slated to meet later in the day to formulate its response and strategy, amid mounting pressure from the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which has accused the CPI of being “humiliated” by its senior partner.

Congress state president Sunny Joseph has said that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was turning Kerala’s schools into laboratories for implementing the Centre’s “saffronisation experiment” through participation in the PM SHRI scheme. He said the inclusion of schools under the PM SHRI project is the result of a “secret understanding” between the CPI(M) and the BJP.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who returned from his Middle East tour on Sunday night, is understood to have held preliminary discussions with CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam in a bid to contain the fallout.

Adding to the intrigue, both leaders are scheduled to share a stage at a joint event in Alappuzha later in the day -- a development that will be closely watched for signs of reconciliation or further discord.

As the crisis deepens, the day’s deliberations are expected to determine whether Kerala’s ruling Left can restore internal unity or face a widening ideological split over the NEP-linked education scheme.

--IANS

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