A social media campaign alleging that former Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader P.K. Sreemathi had drawn a pension claiming to be the wife of a former MLA has been found to be based on a case of mistaken identity.

The allegation, which circulated widely online, claimed that Ms. Sreemathi had received a pension as the spouse of a former legislator. The claim, which cited purported RTI documents, prompted an emotional response from the veteran CPI(M) leader, who denied the allegation. She claimed that an MLA by that name had never been elected to the State Assembly and added that she would approach the police against the social media campaign.

It later emerged that the pension beneficiary was another P.K. Sreemathi — a retired teacher from Poochetty in Thrissur and the wife of former Kunnamkulam MLA P.R. Krishnan. According to the family, she had been receiving the pension as the spouse of a former MLA. She died in 2020. Her son, P.K. Ajith, came forward to refute the misinformation. “My father was former Kunnamkulam MLA P.R. Krishnan. My mother passed away six years ago, and no one has received her pension since then,” Mr. Ajith said. How the identities of the retired teacher from Thrissur and the CPI(M) leader from Kannur were mixed up in the viral posts remains unclear.

(With inputs from PTI)