Kolkata, Mar 30 (PTI) West Bengal Education minister Bratya Basu has alleged that the Centre has not released the third instalment of the Sarva Shiksha Mission (SSM) for the state.

Basu claimed in a social media post on Friday that the Centre is yet to send the amount as West Bengal has not signed MoU with the Centre on PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri School for Rising India) scheme.

Also Read | Indian Navy Frees Iranian Fishing Vessel Hijacked by Somali Pirates, Rescues 23 Pakistani Crew Members.

"Ministry of Finance and Internal Finance Division of Ministry of Education has cleared the release of the third instalment for West Bengal for the SSM. Still, the fund has not been released to our state. The unstated reason is that we have not signed the MoU with GoI on PM SHRI. It is completely unethical and illegal to link the release of funds of one scheme with a separate scheme," the senior TMC leader said in a post on X.

Basu also wondered why should a scheme be named PM SHRI when the state is bearing 40 per cent of the share.

Also Read | 'Ill-Fitted Wedding Attire Can Cause Mental Agony': Boutique in Gujarat Asked to Pay Rs 5000 to Woman For Stitching Blouse Improperly Before Wedding Event.

This is nothing but petty politics, he alleged.

Basu told reporters on Saturday "I haven't seen such a vindictive Central government earlier. After officially releasing the money which is our due, they are blocking the flow. Are they not hurting the interest of the student community?.

The SSM is an integrated scheme for school education from pre-school to class 12 levels.

The scheme is in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4).

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)