THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM ministers V S Sunil Kumar and E Chandrasekharan have come to the fore in defence of speaker P Sreeramamkrishnan in connection with the latter’s spectacles controversy.

Agriculture Minister Sunil Kumar has said that the speaker only received his due reimbursement and that there was no case of corruption or forging fake documents in it.

Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan has said that there is no need of any controversy over an issue which is not illegal.

Meanwhile, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran has responded that there is nothing wrong if the speaker only received his due reimbursement, but added that it’s the individual who has to take decision on the matter of simple living. He also said that he has never applied for any reimbursements while he served as an MLA.

The speaker receiving a reimbursement of Rs. 49,000 for buying spectacles is what sparked the controversy. A RTI document has also revealed that the speaker had earlier received Rs. 4.25 lakh towards treatment costs.

Nevertheless, the speaker has explained that he only bought the spectacles prescribed by the doctor and Rs. 45,000 was the cost of the lens.