Mon Oct 27 19:14:19 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the situation, written from an Indian perspective and designed to be easily digestible:

Headline: Kerala’s Ruling Coalition Faces Crisis as CPI Boycotts Cabinet Over Education Scheme

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA – October 28, 2025 – A significant rift has emerged within Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) coalition, with the Communist Party of India (CPI) announcing a boycott of Cabinet meetings until early November. The dispute centers on the Kerala government’s decision to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the central government for the PM SHRI (Prime Minister Schools for Rising India) scheme.

The CPI views the PM SHRI scheme as a thinly veiled attempt by the BJP-RSS to advance their agenda of privatizing, communalizing, and centralizing education, citing the acceptance of the “reactionary” National Education Policy (NEP). CPI leaders are deeply angered that the government embraced the scheme against the stated policies of the Left nationally, without any prior consultation within the Cabinet. They feel that the CPI(M) had run roughshod over the principles of coalition politics.

CPI General Secretary D. Raja criticized the government’s justification for joining the scheme to access central funds, questioning why Kerala couldn’t follow Tamil Nadu’s example of refusing to sign the MoU and instead challenging the scheme in court.

Despite Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s efforts to appease the CPI through meetings with key party leaders, the talks have so far failed to yield a resolution. Mr. Raja has stated that the CPI will not settle for anything less than the government freezing or withdrawing from the agreement.

While the CPI has received invitations from Congress leaders to join the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), Mr. Raja downplayed any immediate possibility of the party leaving the LDF coalition. He pointed out that Congress governments in Rajasthan, Telangana, and Karnataka had previously joined the PM SHRI scheme. The CPI plans to fight this from within the coalition.

The situation remains tense, with the CPI state council set to meet on November 4 to determine its next course of action. The outcome of that meeting could have significant implications for the stability of the Kerala government.

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