Kozhikode: Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi stated that BJP would have emerged victorious in the Palakkad byelection had Sobha Surendran been fielded as the candidate. He was speaking at election public meetings for NDA candidates V K Sajeevan, Navya Haridas and Adv K P Prakash Babu.

“If Sobha had won back then, there would have been an opposition in the Legislative Assembly to tell those who looted the Sabarimala gold, ‘Put down the gold, you!’ Had that happened, BJP could have seized state power this time,” Suresh Gopi said. He urged the public to oust both the Left and the Right in this election. He also mocked the ‘deal’ allegations against the BJP, dismissively referring to it as a ‘peel’ instead of a ‘deal’.

Explanation of the ‘matte mon’ remark followed by immediate reuse 

Shortly after offering an explanation for his controversial ‘matte mon’ (that other fellow) remark and stating he did not mean it in a derogatory sense, Suresh Gopi used the ‘other’ phrasing once again. The incident occurred during his speech at a campaign event for NDA candidate K P Prakash Babu in Beypore.

The original ‘matte mon’ remark, made two months ago while discussing the AIIMS issue, had sparked major controversy.

“The term was not used in any other sense. I was simply stating that AIIMS would indeed be established,” Suresh Gopi added.

He further commented that those who turned the recent incident of him wearing a shawl meant to be for Rajeev Chandrasekhar into a controversy were people of ‘that other quality’.

“I wore the shawl myself as Rajeev Chandrasekhar was in the middle of speaking. Those spreading these rumours are of ‘that other quality’. If I say ‘praja’ (subject/citizen), they hit back with ‘raja’ (king). The word ‘raja’ is inherent within ‘praja’ itself. I repeat these terms specifically for those who feel an ‘itch’ (who are irritated) by them,” Suresh Gopi said.