LDF govt signed MoU, received Rs 93 cr: Min

Palakkad: General education minister N Samsudheen said on Tuesday that the previous LDF govt had signed the MoU with Centre for PM SHRI scheme and received Rs 93 crore under it, rejecting allegations that UDF was spreading misinformation on the issue. “There is no factual mistake in what we said. The previous govt signed an MoU with Centre. That is a fact which cannot be denied. Centre also released Rs 93 crore in connection with the scheme,” he said, adding that UDF govt’s position on PM SHRI remains unchanged.

He said Govt will discuss the matter in detail before a decision is taken. Samsudheen said UDF govt had not signed any new agreement with Centre and noted that withdrawing unilaterally from an MoU signed jointly by the state and central govts was not a simple process. “When objections were raised earlier, the scheme was not completely withdrawn. It was only kept in abeyance,” he said.

The minister’s remarks came in response to criticism from CPM’s V Sivankutty, who accused UDF govt of spreading ‘misinformation’ regarding PM SHRI scheme. In a Facebook post on Monday, Sivankutty said that Kerala had not implemented the scheme and had not received any funds under it. He termed as a ‘blatant lie’ the claim that the state had received money under PM SHRI.