'How can politics be linked to lotus?' Suresh Gopi slams Kerala Kalolsavam venue name row

Thrissur: Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi on Tuesday questioned why political meaning was being attached to the lotus flower amid the controversy over naming venues at the Kerala School Kalolsavam.

Speaking in Thrissur, he asked why none of the venues had initially been named after the lotus and said some had misled the organisers into avoiding the name ‘Thamara’ (Lotus).

The BJP and its youth wing had reportedly objected to the absence of the lotus from the list of 24 festival venue names, all of which were based on flowers. Following this, the government is understood to have changed the name of one of the venues to ‘Thamara’.

Addressing reporters at the Kalolsavam being held from January 14 to 18, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism questioned the controversy around the renaming.

“Lotus is a national flower. It is just like a rose. How can we see politics in the Lotus? It is a flower used in poojas. No one will feel like burning it when they see it in a pond. Instead, we fall in love with it. So, if we view it with love, it will look beautiful. If we look at it politically, then it is the problem of the viewer,” Gopi said.

He added that the organisers may have been misguided into omitting the lotus.

“Otherwise, there was no need for the minister to re-decide (changing the name to Lotus). I will not say ‘corrected’, but re-decide. That is how I see it,” he said.

PTI