THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V D Satheesan’s remark questioning Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s wisdom in appointing V Sivankutty as General Education Minister sparked a furore in Assembly. Satheesan had remarked that students from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka can be admitted to the higher secondary schools of Kerala if Sivankutty’s claim of vacant Plus One seats in the state was true. Sivankutty quickly corrected Satheesan by saying that students from the two neighbouring states cannot be given admission in Kerala as they had not attended the Board exam.
Irked by Sivankutty’s repartee, Satheesan ironically remarked that he salutes the CM who appointed a person like him as General Education Minister. This angered LDF MLAs who took exception to Satheesan’s statement and demanded that it be expunged from records.
Sivankutty soon clarified that students from TN, Karnataka and Lakshadweep, who were declared Class X pass even without holding Board exam, cannot participate in the single window Plus One admission process in Kerala. Sivankutty also retorted to Satheesan for his dig at him. “I did not ask who appointed Satheesan as Opposition Leader,” the minister said.