Pension remarks intended to show Govt’s delay in payment, huge arrears: Venugopal

CONGRESS general secretary K C Venugopal on Wednesday clarified that his remarks about welfare pension disbursement by the Kerala government were aimed at showing how much delayed it was and that arrears were partially cleared usually close to elections.

- 

Venugopal, the MP from Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency, said his remarks were "deliberately misinterpreted” by the CPI(M) to "mislead" the people. "I did not say anything against the beneficiaries who deserve to get the pension on time. I only intended to point out the state government's priority with regard to its payment. “Last year, two out of seven months arrears were paid just before the Lok Sabha polls. This year, one month's arrears is being paid just before the by-poll," he told reporters.