False pension claim against PK Sreemathy exposed after identification of namesake, leader breaks down

Thiruvananthapuram: A 'family pension' allegation levelled against CPM Central Committee member PK Sreemathy by certain media outlets has been proven false.

The reports claimed that Sreemathy was receiving the family pension of former Kunnamkulam MLA PR Krishnan by falsely posing as his widow. However, the allegation stemmed from a case of mistaken identity involving two women with the same name.

Speaking to reporters at the AKG Centre, Sreemathy became emotional and broke down while denying the allegation.

The controversy was clarified by Ajith, the son of late PR Krishnan, who said his mother's name was also PK Sreemathy and that she had been receiving her husband's family pension until her death in 2020.

He said CPM leader PK Sreemathy had never received his father's pension and pledged full support to her in pursuing legal action against those responsible for spreading the misinformation.

PR Krishnan, a Congress leader, represented Kunnamkulam in the Second Kerala Legislative Assembly (1960-64). He died on March 23, 1993, after which his wife, PK Sreemathy, became eligible for and received the family pension. The pension was discontinued following her death in February 2020.

The confusion arose after information obtained from the Kerala Assembly under the Right to Information (RTI) Act listed the names of family pension beneficiaries. Seeing the name "PK Sreemathy" against PR Krishnan's record, some social media users and BJP-supporting media outlets wrongly identified the beneficiary as the CPM leader and circulated the claim along with her photograph.

Sreemathy addressed the issue while attending the CPM state committee meeting on Thursday. Fighting back tears, she said that despite more than five decades in public life, those who spread the baseless allegation had not even bothered to verify the facts with her before publishing the claim.