Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi on Friday said that he would quit politics if the Central government does not allot an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Kerala during the five years of the current regime.

Suresh Gopi, who became a junior minister in the Central government after he became BJP’s first Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, made the bold announcement at Manorama News Conclave 2024 held at O by Tamara in Thiruvananthapuram.

Suresh Gopi had come under severe criticism after Kerala’s long-pending demand for an AIIMS was ignored in the recent Union budget even after he had made it clear that setting up of the premier medical institute in the state was his priority.

AIIMS is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Only a few states, including Kerala and Karnataka, do not have the institute now.

“AIIMS will come up in the most suitable place. The state should come forward meeting all the parametres in a satisfying manner. Even after that if the state doesn’t get an AIIMS, then I will quit politics,” he said.

The Kerala government has shown preference to set up the institute at Kinalur in Kozhikode. However, Suresh Gopi hinted that he is considering another place, probably somewhere in central Kerala. “When the institute comes up it should be beneficial for the people in the stretch covering Kottayam and Idukki to Cumbum, Theni and Madurai (in Tamil Nadu),” he said.

He said the Union ministry has also been preparing new modules to catch up with the changing trends in international tourism and with a change in its mindset Kerala can turn out to be a number one tourist destination in the country.