Kerala has orally communicated its stance on the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, State Education Minister V Sivankutty stated yesterday, Monday, November 10, emphasising that the state has not yet submitted a written confirmation.

Addressing the media after meeting with Union Education Minister Pradhan in New Delhi, Sivankutty stated that the state government had notified the Centre that the PM SHRI scheme in Kerala had been "kept in abeyance", IANS reports.

"We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that the state does not lose any Central funds," he added.

Minister Sivankutty stated that a formal letter will be sent only after the subcommittee established to investigate the plan submits its report. He observed that Union Minister Pradhan did not respond either in favour or against during the discussion.

Sivankutty responded to questions about Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam's criticism of the state government's attitude, saying, "I neither have the intention nor the need to question his comments."

Meanwhile, the Minister stated that he has written to the Union Education Minister, requesting immediate action regarding the recent Gana Geetham incident at the Vande Bharat Express flag-off ceremony.

He described the episode, in which students were purportedly forced to perform a song related to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the video was broadcast on the Southern Railway's official social media account, as "a serious violation of constitutional secular values".