Left govt announces welfare pension disbursal amid Nilambur bypoll row

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid allegations that the Left government is politicising welfare pensions, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Monday announced that this month's social security pensions will be distributed from June 20 onwards.

The announcement came as the campaign for the Nilambur Assembly bypoll, scheduled for June 19, reached its peak -- and a day after AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the state government for distributing the pension to over 62 lakh people at its convenience.

Raising the issue during a campaign rally in Nilambur on Sunday, Priyanka charged the Left government with "politicising" the Rs 1,600 welfare pension.

Her remarks came as the ruling CPI(M) intensified its campaign in Nilambur, strongly reacting to Congress leader K C Venugopal's recent comment likening welfare pensions to a "bribe".

The CPI(M), which accused Venugopal of attacking a vital welfare scheme, seized on the remark made during a speech as part of the ongoing campaign and framed it as an insult to pension beneficiaries.

Under the scheme, over 62 lakh beneficiaries receive a monthly pension of Rs 1,600 in the state.

Announcing the latest disbursal, Balagopal said that during the current government's four-year tenure, Rs 38,500 crore has been spent on social security pensions.

In comparison, Rs 35,154 crore was disbursed during the 2016–21 tenure of the previous LDF government, including arrears from 18 months of the earlier UDF government.

Altogether, over the past nine years, the two Pinarayi Vijayan-led governments have distributed Rs 73,654 crore in social welfare pensions, he said.

"By contrast, the UDF government, which was in power from 2011 to 2016, had spent only Rs 9,011 crore on welfare pensions," said Balagopal, who is also a senior CPI(M) leader.

Despite what he described as a severe financial blockade imposed by the central government, the state continues to prioritise the welfare of ordinary people, he added.