PM SHRI: Even if an agreement is signed, govt can withdraw from it, says Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala LoP

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly and former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) government has “completely surrendered” to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by choosing to implement the Centre’s PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme.

Speaking to the media here on Thursday, Vijayan stated that even if a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed, a state government retains the full constitutional power to officially withdraw from the initiative. The project cannot be implemented just because the MoU was signed and the UDF government should clarify the basis on which it surrendered to the Central government.

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He emphasized that signing an MoU does not mean automatic implementation. In this context, he cited the example of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab which signed up for the PM SHRI scheme but later successfully withdrew..

ijayan clarified that the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government signed the basic framework purely to secure blocked Central education funds. However, the LDF government intentionally did not form the necessary state or district-level monitoring committees required for execution.

He rejected the claims that Kerala had already utilized PM SHRI financing. He specified that the funds received by Kerala were actually SSK funds intended for textbook allocations and student uniforms, rather than PM SHRI project distributions.

Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said Kerala is forced to continue with the PM SHRI scheme, due to the previous LDF government signed the agreement and accepted initial funds from the Centre. “It is the previous LDF government which signed the agreement with the Centre to implement the scheme. It also accepted funds in connection with it. So, we are forced to go ahead with the scheme,” he added.

The state received Rs 99 crore in connection with Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) and the Centre has sanctioned Rs 106 crore under the scheme, Satheesan said.