Union Minister Suresh Gopi sparked widespread controversy on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, with his incendiary statement that elected officials in Kerala were “swindling the people” through votes cast by “corpses.”
During a public engagement in Thrissur, part of his ‘Kalingu Gathering Campaign,’ Mr. Gopi asserted that individuals who had been deceased for as long as 25 years were still casting ballots in state elections. He pointedly remarked that the media had previously covered such irregularities.
Reflecting on his electoral journey, Mr. Gopi expressed deep emotion, stating he hadn’t won his seat in Thiruvananthapuram or Thrissur – areas typically strong for the BJP – through conventional means. He tearfully claimed his victory in Thrissur was solely “by God’s grace,” a sentiment that deeply moved him.
In a speech heavy with grievances, the Minister portrayed himself as the target of a relentless political “witch-hunt” and a malicious vilification campaign.
He highlighted a recent attack, calling it a “falsehood,” which claimed he had proposed Tamil Nadu as an alternative location for the much-desired All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala. This alleged recommendation was supposedly contingent on the Kerala government failing to successfully lobby the Central government for the institution to be established in Alappuzha or Thrissur.
Mr. Gopi clarified his stance, emphasizing that the Kerala government lacked the authority to dictate where the Centre should sanction the AIIMS, particularly concerning a specific plot of land in Kinalur, Kozhikode, it had set aside.
He passionately declared, “I will resign as Minister and quit politics if these liars can prove that I lobbied for Tamil Nadu regarding AIIMS.” He further explained that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had pledged a Centre for Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Research and Training Institute for Thrissur. While the project was progressing, the State government reportedly attempted to obstruct it, advocating for Thiruvananthapuram instead and claiming no suitable land was available in Thrissur. In response to this perceived obstruction, Mr. Gopi stated he retorted, “Let the Centre allocate the project to Stalin (Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin),” with specific locations like Kambam and Theni in Tamil Nadu in mind.
He also revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inquired why Alappuzha was excluded from the list of potential AIIMS locations.
The Minister lamented being “hounded by controversies” stirred by “valueless people with no destiny of their own.” He recounted accusations, such as giving a copper circlet instead of gold to a shrine for Mother Mary, and allegations of disrupting the Thrissur Pooram festival for political gain. He also addressed criticisms about his film career, where detractors claimed his acting roles made him “incapable of administration.”