I saw in PM Modi an international communist when he announced note ban: Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi

Gopi, a popular actor in Kerala known for his roles in action movies, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP after he reportedly turned down a request to contest the Assembly elections last year. However, he was a star campaigner for the party and was instrumental in its getting its first-ever MLA elected in the state when O Rajagopal won the Nemom seat in Thiruvananthapuram.

He said his first meeting with Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat, on March 5, 2014 lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes. Gopi said he met Modi as a non-political entity and that before the meeting, he was studied, analysed and scrutinised.

“After the meeting, I kept my hand on my chest and said, ‘this man will come, this man should come’. I spoke as an Indian citizen, not as a BJP leader. I was so sincere. I came back and told many people that he will come. We were always in contact during the election process. In every phone call, I have told him of the magic figure of 330 seats, nothing less than 330 seats,” the MP said.

In the interview, Gopi also spoke extensively about the incident that turned him towards politics.

“It was the agitation against the proposed airport in Aranmula. A fight for land was at the centre of the controversy. Today, be it Pinarayi Vijayan or Oommen Chandy, they all exhort people to save water and save soil. Every earth day or soil day or water day, they get school children out on the roads and force them to plant trees or clean ponds. When you are in power, you destroy the land and the water. In Aranmula, you plan to build an airport by shutting out the source of water for the fields. And then you make the school children plant trees. What is this nonsense? I cannot take that. So the moment I started fighting emotionally for the people with respect to the Aranmula airport I was attempting to being heard which I had to retort. And when I have to retaliate, I have to do it from a safe ground. I have found my plateau,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP said the development of the Vizhinjam seaport and the relocation of railway stations were some of his priorities in the state.

Read the full interview on IE Malayalam here