Overview
- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a seven-member cabinet sub-committee will examine the agreement and the state will tell the Centre it will not proceed until the report.
- Days earlier, general education secretary K Vasuki had signed the MoU in New Delhi to access PM-SHRI support and pending Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan dues.
- CPI leaders opposed the scheme as a vehicle for NEP-driven “saffronisation” and said the signing bypassed the cabinet and coalition partners.
- CPI(M) and Education Minister V Sivankutty had argued the funding was needed to meet salaries and student grants as over Rs 1,400 crore in central transfers remain withheld, according to reports.
- Opposition voices reacted, with BJP state leader M. T. Ramesh alleging the reversal was influenced by religious groups, a claim the government has not addressed.