Minister Suresh Gopi Clarifies 'Mother Of India' Remark on Former PM Indira Gandhi

Union Minister Suresh Gopi clarified that his comment referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as the 'Mother of India' was a contextual reference related to praising late Congress leader K Karunakaran.

Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday clarified his comments on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, where he referred to her as "Mother of India", and said it was a "contextual reference." The BJP MP said that it was a contextual reference, while he was elaborating on the role of late Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, who Gopi had earlier described as a "courageous administrator."

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Gopi said, "It was a contextual reference. I was talking about the true worth of leader Karunakaran. Like how to the Congress and non-Congress people of Kerala, even though there might be founders and co-founders, the administrational quality and efforts that result totally to the benefit of people, Karunakaran should be the father of Congress in Kerala. In the context of that, I had referred to Indira Gandhi as the mother of Congress in India."

Earlier, Gopi, who was inducted as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Tourism, referred to veteran leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxists, EK Nayanar and K Karunakaran, as his "political gurus.Simply because my father's family was a Congress family, my mother's family worked up to the formation of Janasangh in Kerala...I was in the SFI. But the reason behind my shift was not political. It was emotional. I will live my life emotionally as well, being acceptable to all classes of life, all segments of life, all levels of life," the BJP MP said on Sunday.

"My parentage, my traditions, the essence of Sanatana Dharma--I have to perform all those valuable traits. Simply because Indira Gandhi is Congress, and for that draconian act of hers, I cannot sway away from attributing. I call her the real architect of India post-independence until her death," he added.

Notably, Suresh Gopi defeated K Karunakaran's son, K Muraleedharan, in the Thrissur constituency in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. The actor-turned-politician has become the first Lok Sabha BJP MP from Kerala after winning the Thrissur constituency. He defeated the ruling Left Democratic Front candidate, V.S. Sunilkumar, by a margin of 74,686 votes.

Gopi was sworn in as Minister of State in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. He assumed charge as Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas as well as the Ministry of Tourism on Tuesday morning, earlier this week.