Thrissur: Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi finally admitted that he had reached the venue of the Thrissur pooram festival in an ambulance. Addressing the media, Suresh Gopi said that he had a leg injury at that time and could hardly walk for 15 days owing to the pain. “Some youths who had no political affiliations helped into the ambulance,” he said.

The MP from Thrissur also challenged the state government to order a CBI probe into the disruption of the Thrissur pooram. “The people of Thrissur voted for me because of the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam. The pooram controversy is an attempt to cover up the scam,” he said.

Suresh Gopi also asked the government why it had not registered a case based on the statement of the person who claimed that he arrived at the pooram venue in an ambulance. Gopi further said that he had neither abused anyone’s parent nor wished to do that in future.

Referring to the report submitted to the government on the death of former Kannur ADM Naveen Babu, Suresh Gopi demanded the response of the Revenue Minister on it. “The issue of granting NoCs to petrol pumps has been persisting for many years. I spoke to the Union Petroleum Minister on the matter. All the NOCs granted during the last 10 years would be examined,” he said.

Responding to Suresh Gopi’s remarks, Public Works Department and Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas stated that comments such as “one father” may work in films but are inappropriate for politics. “In politics, there’s no response to such a remark; that’s something that works only in cinema,” Riyas said.

Riyas further stated that the BJP is not solely responsible for Suresh Gopi’s success in Thrissur; the Congress also played a role. “If a DNA test of Suresh Gopi's victory in Thrissur were conducted, the truth would come out,” he added. Riyas criticised the Congress, suggesting it is once again acting as Suresh Gopi's “marketing manager,” and referred to the CBI as a “parrot in a cage.”