KC Venugopal explains pension remark, says it was directed at Kerala government
He said, 'Last year, two out of seven months arrears were paid just before the Lok Sabha polls. This year, one month's arrears are being paid just before the by-poll.' Venugopal's clarification followed strong criticism from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), which accused Venugopal of calling welfare pensions an 'election bribe' and described his remarks as baseless and misleading. The party stated that the Left government has consistently paid Rs 1,600 as welfare pension to approximately 62 lakh beneficiaries since coming to power in 2016. The CPI(M) has demanded an apology from Venugopal for his remarks. The Left party leadership said that the Congress MP should withdraw his statement as he insulted a scheme that gives solace to 62 lakh people. Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal said the Congress and KC Venugopal both should apologise to the beneficiaries. advertisementBalagopal also refuted Venugopal's claims, asserting that there were no major arrears in the welfare pension scheme. 'What Venugopal said was wrong and he should not try to justify it now,' the Minister said. Balagopal also added that the recent pension arrears disbursement was decided well before the Nilambur by-poll was announced, at a time when a by-election was not anticipated due to ongoing India-Pakistan tensions and the upcoming state elections in 2026.The Minister also accused Venugopal for making statements that could 'insult voters' and cautioned that such remarks could alienate the public from the Congress. He further urged Congress, as a member of the INDIA bloc, to oppose Central government policies that adversely affect Kerala rather than misrepresent the state government's welfare initiatives.'The Pinarayi Vijayan government has given two instalments of pension during the election time because they see it as a bribe for buying votes. Now they will come up saying two instalments, one instalment very soon,' Venugopal had said while campaigning for the United Democratic Front in Nilambur, Malappuram, for the bypoll scheduled on June 19.Venugopal also alleged that while the government had sufficient funds for publicity efforts related to itself and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, it failed to provide timely payments to pensioners and increase the honorarium for Accredited Social Health Activist (Asha) workers.advertisementWhile speaking to reporters, Venugopal claimed that the amount of Rs 1,600 being given by the government was done by merging several pensions in the name of revision. He also claimed that there were huge arrears in funds to be given to the various workers' welfare boards in the state.
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