Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], June 17 : Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Wednesday criticised three university Vice-Chancellors for attending an RSS event addressed by Chief Mohan Bhagwat, saying their participation went against the state's secular legacy.
Addressing a press conference, Keralam CM said, "Three vice-chancellors of the universities in Kerala attended the RSS Chief's program. We, the UDF and I as the Chief Minister, deplored the action of the vice-chancellors. That was unfair... All these vice-chancellors were violating the legacy of the Kerala secular culture."
Further, he said the state cabinet has decided to form a subcommittee to examine issues related to the PM SHRI project, adding that Kerala will continue the scheme while ensuring the Centre has no role in the curriculum framework or school selection.
"Today, the cabinet convened, and we have taken a decision to form a cabinet subcommittee to study the matters related to the PM SHRI project. The former government has already entered into an agreement with the central government, and they received the money from the government also. Now we are forced to continue that project, but on one condition that we don't allow the central government to intervene in the curriculum framework, and we don't allow them to select the schools," Satheesan said.
Following a cabinet meeting, Satheesan said that while the state is participating in the scheme, there are significant ideological reservations about the Centre's control over the school's curriculum.
"The government's ideological objection to the scheme is that the Central Government should not interfere with curriculum freedom. The state government should have the authority to select the schools where the scheme is to be implemented. To prepare and communicate the UDF government's ideological position on the PM SHRI scheme to the Centre, the Cabinet has constituted a sub-committee," he stated.