The namesake is troubling former Kerala minister PK Sreemathi

A social media campaign alleging that former minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader PK Sreemathi was in receipt of pension and claiming to be the wife of a former MLA is based on a case of mistaken identity.

The allegation, which was widely circulated online, alleged that Ms. Sreemathi was drawing pension as the wife of a former lawmaker. The claim, which cited alleged RTI documents, drew an emotional response from a veteran CPI(M) leader who denied the allegation. She claimed that an MLA with that name had never been elected to the State Assembly, adding that she would approach the police against the social media campaign.

Later it emerged that the pension beneficiary was another PK Sreemathi – a retired teacher from Poochetta in Thrissur and wife of former Kunnamkulam MLA PR Krishnan. According to the family, she was drawing pension as the wife of a former MLA. She died in 2020. Her son PK Ajith came forward to refute the misinformation. “My father was former Kunnamkulam MLA PR Krishnan. My mother died six years ago and no one has received her pension since then,” Mr Ajith said. How the identity of a retired teacher from Thrissur and a CPI(M) leader from Kannur got mixed up in the viral posts remains unclear.

(With inputs from PTI)

Published – 24 Jul 2026 0:32 IST