After ‘didn’t want’ Cabinet berth comment, BJP MP Suresh Gopi issues clarification on ‘incorrect news’

Then in a post on X, Gopi said, “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. Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji we are committed to the development and prosperity of Kerala”.

Suresh Gopi also posted on Facebook. “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,” he said.

During the Lok Sabha election 2024 campaign, the actor-turned-politician’s major poll plank was “a Union minister for Thrissur, Modi’s guarantee”. Gopi was one of the two BJP nominees from Kerala, and the other one was senior party leader George Kurian, who was inducted into the Union Cabinet as a Minister of State.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Gopi told Malayalam TV channels in Delhi, “I want to work as an MP. My stand was that I didn’t want it (Cabinet berth). I had told (the party) that I was not interested in it (Cabinet berth). I think I will be relieved soon”.

“The people of Thrissur know very well. I will perform very well as an MP. I want to act in films. Let the party decide,” he said.

His comments, which came soon after the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term, embarrassed the BJP leadership, which feared that it would lead to a setback for the party’s growth plan in Kerala.

Gopi’s stand also came hours before the Union Cabinet is slated to have its first meeting on Monday.

Gopi, 65, deployed the slogan “A Union Minister for Thrissur, Modi’s guarantee” during campaign meetings, public interactions, and on the walls of Thrissur. After winning the Lok Sabha elections, Gopi said he would not quit the film industry as acting is his passion. He already has a few film projects in the pipeline.

Before leaving for Delhi on Sunday, Gopi told the media at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, “This (a Cabinet berth) is Modi’s decision. He called me and asked me to be at his home. I am obeying. I do not know anything else. I would be an MP who is working for Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I had already told people of Thrissur during the campaigning”.

The Congress party’s Kerala unit soon lashed out at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tagging the saffron party and PM Modi, Congress asked, “Why this mockery of voters? Why don’t you tell your MP to first decide what he wants to do in life and most importantly stop this show in front of the media after taking oath in the name of God and the Constitution?”.

The Union Cabinet berth for Gopi, who won from Thrissur Lok Sabha seat with a majority of over 74,000 votes by defeating Communist Party of India leader V S Sunilkumar in a three-cornered fight with senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan coming in third, is also another milestone for the BJP in Kerala. The party was upbeat over Gopi’s induction into the Cabinet as he is the BJP’s first-ever Lok Sabha member from Kerala.