IDUKKI: The CPM were caught unawares when two elderly women from Adimali in Idukki sought alms to make ends meet after their pension was delayed for five months. To make matters worse, a subsequent news report in the party mouthpiece — stating that one of the women, Mariyakutty (87), of Poonuduthupara house in Irunnuru (200) Acre, owned 1.5 acres of land and two houses — turned out to be false.
For BJP, it turned a carpe diem moment with party leaders promising her financial assistance. Former Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi, who visited Mariyakutty at her house in Adimali on Friday, promised to provide her a monthly pension of Rs 1,600 from his MP pension.
Mariyakutty said BJP national council member Krishnakumar called her on the phone and promised to give the women an assistance of Rs 25,000 each annually. She told TNIE that despite the false media reports, the CPM has so far neither made any attempt to find a solution to her issue nor visited her to understand her situation.
“I have four daughters. The eldest, Sali, works as a gospel preacher in Delhi and my second daughter is married and settled in Wayanad. My third daughter is settled in Ayiram (1,000) Acre nearby and my youngest, Princy, who the CPM mouthpiece claimed was abroad, is selling lottery tickets in Adimali,” Mariyakutty said.