Kerala govt 'sabotaging' central schemes: BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan

Thiruvananthapuram | The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala is deceiving the people by "sabotaging" union government schemes and branding them as state-sponsored, former BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan alleged on Thursday.

Addressing reporters here, Rajasekharan said it is "shameful" to present the central government's midday meal scheme in schools as a programme of the state government.

He said the ‘PM Poshan Abhiyan' is a union government scheme, fully funded by the Centre. "However, the state government is taking credit for it and splashing advertisements in newspapers," he alleged.

The important social welfare scheme of the Centre, which benefits 11 crore students in 10.67 lakh government-aided schools, is being advertised as a state scheme in Kerala, he claimed.

The scheme has been implemented in 12,000 schools in the state, and 26 lakh children are being provided food under it, Rajasekharan said.

He added that the central government has spent Rs 12,467 crore on the scheme to protect the health of children across the country.

Rajasekharan alleged that the state government is diverting funds from central schemes and portraying its own ‘fraud' as the ‘neglect' of the Union government.

He further claimed the state government has not yet signed an agreement with the Centre to implement the ‘PM SHRI' scheme in schools, citing "political reasons".

The Centre has allocated Rs 1.13 crore to the state for implementing the ‘PM SHRI' scheme, which remains unutilised due to the state government's negative stance, Rajasekharan said.

He also claimed that in the case of National Highway development, Kerala has not utilised even 30 per cent of the funds allocated by the Centre, while other states have used the entire sanctioned amount.