Kerala BJP MP Suresh Gopi calls Indira Gandhi as “Mother of India” and Marxist veteran E K Nayanar as his "political gurus”

Creating a new stir, the Union minister and first Kerala BJP MP Suresh Gopi, referred to Indira Gandhi as the "mother of India." According to PTI, the actor-turned-politician referred to the late former chief minister of Kerala, K Karunakaran, as a "courageous administrator." Additionally, Suresh Gopi called Karunakaran and another former chief minister, EK Nayanar, his "political gurus." Suresh Gopi made these statements, following a visit to Karunakaran's memorial, "Murali Mandiram," in his constituency of Thrissur.

Gopi had won Thrissur by a margin of around 75,000 votes over Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate VS Sunilkumar. K Muraleedharan, the son of Karunakaran, finished third in the poll. Gopi claimed he went to the memorial to pay his respects to his "guru," but he asked the media not to interpret the comments politically, the PTI report continued.

The Union minister said that he had relationships with Karunakaran and his wife in addition to EK Nayanar and his wife Sarada Teacher. Gopi, the state minister for tourism and petroleum, referred to Karunakaran as the “father of the Congress party in the state” and named Indira Gandhi, the country’s first female prime minister, “Bharathathinte mathavu” (mother of India).

He made it clear, nevertheless, that giving Karunakaran this title was in no way intended to belittle the Kerala Congress's founders or co-founders. Gopi described the late Congress leader as a "courageous administrator" of his generation, continuing his laudatory remarks about Karunakaran. There were rumors that Gopi might resign from his position as minister in the Narendra Modi administration after taking an oath of office. A day after taking the oath, there were media reports that the 65-year-old politician had decided to withdraw from the council of ministers.

"I expect I will be relieved from the Union ministry. I have to finish my movies. Let the central leadership decide. As the MP, I will perform to the best of my abilities in Thrissur. I had maintained that I do not want the cabinet position,” Manorama News quoted him saying. But he denied as "grossly incorrect" media claims claiming he was looking to "exit" the government of Narendra Modi. Clearing his stand on the rumors of resigning from the Union Minister position, Suresh Gopi on his social media posted, “A few media platforms are spreading the incorrect news that I am going to resign from the Council of Ministers of the Modi Government. This is grossly incorrect. It is a matter of pride for me to be in the Council of Ministers of the Modi Government and to represent the people of Kerala”. Notably, the Malayalam actor-turned-politician has made history by becoming the first BJP MP from Kerala, marking the party’s first-ever victory in the Lok Sabha election. Rare in Narendra Modi’s ministerial team, anyone has hailed Indira Gandhi like Suresh Gopi, as reactions are awaited, it will be interesting to see how the BJP leaders react to Gopi’s statement.