CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan on Tuesday slammed Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal’s alleged remark that the welfare pension given by the government is an election bribe and demanded that he and his party apologise for it.

Mr. Govindan termed the alleged remark as “baseless” and claimed that it was intended to mislead the public. Such baseless allegations would not be discussed during the Nilambur Assembly byelection.

The CPI(M) leader said the Left government has been paying ₹1,600 as welfare pension to around 62 lakh beneficiaries since it came to power in 2016. It will become a bribe only if it is paid during the polls, but the payment has been a continuous process and now all arrears have been cleared and only one month’s dues remain.

Echoing similar sentiment, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said the alleged remark by the Congress leader amounts to “underestimating” the public. He also questioned whether Mr. Venugopal thought that the people were “idiots” and if it was right on the part of the Congress leader to say that the beneficiaries were accepting a bribe to support the Left government.

“He and his party should apologise. His statement indicates that the Congress does not like that we are giving welfare pensions. They do not want us to do anything which would benefit the people.

“Baseless allegations are being made by the Congress and UDF leadership during every election. They have nothing to say about development,” he said.

General Education Minister V. Sivankutty said Mr. Venugopal’s alleged remark was a challenge to the common man and that such statements were being made as the Congress was afraid of a defeat in the bypoll. The Congress leader was “mocking” and “belittling” the common people of Kerala during the poll campaign and said that such acts should be stopped by leaders of the grand old party.

Mr. Venugopal, during the ongoing by-poll campaign in Nilambur, had allegedly said that the Left government has turned the welfare pensions into an election bribe.