Indira Gandhi is 'mother of India'; Karunakaran is father of Congress in Kerala, says Suresh Gopi

THRISSUR: Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Saturday hailed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by referring to her as the mother of India. He also said that former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran is the father of the Congress in Kerala. The Union Minister was talking to journalists after paying floral tributes at the memorials of Karunakaran and his wife Kalyanikutty Amma at Murali Mandiram in Thrissur.

"There is no politics in visiting Murali Mandiram. Kalyanikutty Amma is the mother I got before Sarada teacher. K Karunakaran's influence had done good for Kerala. O Rajagopal is perhaps the only Union Minister from Kerala who was able to at least come close to Karunakaran. Karunakaran was a courageous administrator and I admire him. I came here to pay respect to my guru," Suresh Gopi said.

"Leader Karunakaran holds the foremost position among my political gurus. Even though I am not on his political path, I should not cause any problem to his dignity. The party workers know that there is no need to see any politics in this. When I was named the candidate in 2019, I had requested permission from Padmaja to visit Murali Mandiram. However, she said that I should not come as she did not know what to tell her party workers then. Today, I came here as a Union Minister. Neither K Muraleedharan nor anyone else can stop me from visiting this place," Suresh Gopi added.