Thrissur: Union Minister and BJP leader Suresh Gopi denied arriving in an ambulance at the Thrissur Pooram venue on the day when chaos broke out, on Monday. The actor-turned-politician said he reached the venue in the car of the BJP district president. However, the visuals of Suresh Gopi arriving at the festival venue in a Sevabharathi ambulance had gone viral on social media. This video evidence and the minister's contradicting claim will likely put the party in a spot.
He was speaking at the election convention of the NDA candidate in Chelakkara K Balakrishnan. "As BJP state president K Surendran believes, I did not go there in an ambulance. I reached the festival venue in the BJP district president's car. Let the investigation find out whether me reaching the spot in an ambulance was an illusion or not," said Gopi.
He, however, said the truth will never come out if "Pinarayi's police probe the case. "Let CBI come. Are you ready for that challenge? If those in the government were born to one father, the case should be left to the CBI. Let Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu speak their truths," said Gopi.
"I went there to question the police excess on hundreds of Pooram enthusiasts. I had told the media that the collector and the commissioner should not be transferred or punished under any circumstance. I will show them how to conduct a pooram in 2025," he added.
After the Thiruvambady faction halted pooram proceedings after the rituals were disrupted, the visuals of Suresh Gopi arriving in an ambulance belonging to the Sevabharathi, the RSS's community service wing, to resolve the issue went viral on social media. The ruling LDF and the opposition UDF alleged a conspiracy behind bringing Suresh Gopi in an ambulance into a closed area without access to other vehicles. An investigation was launched into the incident based on a complaint filed by CPI Thrissur unit secretary Adv Sumesh.
Suresh Gopi was among the first to reach the pooram venue to negotiate with the Thiruvambady Devaswom representatives so that the festival would not be disrupted.