I have the right to scold my party workers, says Suresh Gopi

Thrissur: A day after he was seen berating his party workers for not turning up in numbers for his campaigning, Suresh Gopi, the actor-turned-politician who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls as the NDA candidate from Thrissur, said that he has all the authority to scold his party workers if they do not follow the campaign instructions properly.

In a video that went viral on Saturday, Gopi was seen losing his cool with the BJP's booth-level workers while visiting the Shasthampoovam tribal colony. 

“My party workers are bound to do the work they have been assigned. There were enough people when I visited the place. When I got into the car, a few tribal people came to me and told me in front of my workers that their names were not included in the voter list yet. I got to know that at least 25 names are not included. In such a situation, I would fight my party workers and I have the right to do so. I consider it as a talent,” he said.

Suresh Gopi explained that if he got elected as the MP, then it is the party workers who have to work at the grassroots and understand the requirements and issues of the common man. “It is their responsibility to be with the common man and inform me of their concerns. Only then can I work for the public. So, if I have scolded them, it’s just a sample,” said Gopi smilingly. His threat that he would not hesitate to go back to Thiruvananthapuram was not a joke, he said. “It was a way to make them perk up,” he said.

Noticing a poor turnout at the reception point at the  Sasthampoovam tribal colony on Saturday, Gopi was seen warning party workers to campaign properly. “If you are working for me, then ensure that the voting citizens are present here. You should understand (the pulse of) each booth. We have not come here for a war; we are here to help them (the voters). If you do not help me in the course, then I would not hesitate to go back to Thiruvananthapuram and campaign there for Rajeev Chandrasekhar (the NDA candidate in Thiruvananthapuram). Please remember that I have not submitted my nomination,” Gopi told the party workers.