Kerala: Union Minister Suresh Gopi visits Congress stalwart K Karunakaran's memorial in Thrissur
Union Minister Suresh Gopi paid homage to late Congress stalwart K Karunakaran at Murali Mandiram in Thrissur's Punkunnam on Saturday (June 15). K Karunakaran was the former Chief Minister of Kerala and he founded the Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition.
FollowKerala: The Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum paid floral tributes at late Congress leader K Karunakaran's memorial Murali Mandiram in Thrissur's Punkunnam on Saturday (June 15).
BJP leader Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of Karunakaran, accompanied the minister as he paid his respects to the Congress stalwart. "I'm here to honor my mentor. Just as Sarada teacher (EK Nayanar's wife) is like a mother to me, Kalyanikutty Amma (Karunakaran's wife) is also someone I consider a mother," Suresh Gopi expressed.
Suresh Gopi also lauded Indira Gandhi, describing her as the mother figure of India. He praised her as a guiding light and highlighted Karunakaran's positive influence on Kerala through his interactions with Indira Gandhi. Gopi emphasized Karunakaran's reputation as a courageous leader.
In 2019, when he was a candidate in Thrissur, Suresh Gopi had requested permission from Padmaja Venugopal to visit Murali Mandiram, but she declined, citing concerns about how it might be perceived by her party members. Gopi respected her decision at that time. However, now as a Union Minister, he emphasized that no one, including K Muralidharan or anyone else, can prevent him from visiting Murali Mandiram.
Suresh Gopi secured a significant victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha segment, leading by a substantial margin of over 74,686 votes. He defeated CPI leader V S Sunilkumar in a closely contested election. Gopi received a total of 4,12,338 votes, while Sunilkumar garnered 3,37,652 votes. Congress's K Muraleedharan secured the third position with 3,28,124 votes.
