Union Minister Suresh Gopi’s remarks to elderly woman courts fresh controversy
Thrissur: Union Minister of State Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, has courted yet another controversy after he talked to an elderly woman in an insensitive language during his interactive session with people in his constituency on Wednesday.
Gopi was earlier widely criticised for his refusal to accept a petition from an old man for assistance to construct a house, and later justified it, saying he never gave promises that cannot be kept.
On Wednesday, an elderly woman, Anandavally, asked him whether he could help her get the money she had deposited in the Karuvannur service cooperative bank, which was caught in a scam involving CPI(M) leaders in the district.
The case, in which several people lost their deposits in the bank, is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
To the woman’s plea, Gopi gave an abrupt reply, saying she should approach the state Chief Minister to receive the money from the ED, which had confiscated the assets of many persons involved in the scam.
“You should not talk too much. Ask your MLA or minister here or approach the CM,” he told the woman.
When the woman replied that she does not know how to approach the CM, Gopi said, “And then you put the blame on me,” in the visuals being circulated on social media.
After the woman said he was also our minister, Gopi replied that he was a minister of the country.
Reacting to the Union Minister’s response, Anandavally told reporters on Thursday that she never expected such words from the actor-turned-minister.
“I had seen him in films and expected a kind word from him. He could have just told me that my request will be considered,” she said.
She also said that Suresh Gopi had promised during his election campaign that all the depositors in the Karuvannur bank would get back their money.
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