Suresh Gopi signals hesitation about continuing as Union Minister a day after swearing in

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, actor and Union Minister of State-designate Suresh Gopi, MP, appears to have put his party on tenterhooks by signalling hesitation to accept the Constitutional responsibility given his film commitments. 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, actor and Union Minister of State-designate Suresh Gopi, MP, appears to have put his party on tenterhooks by signalling hesitation to accept the Constitutional responsibility given his film commitments. 

Most of the cliff-hanger action regarding Mr. Gopi’s continuation in Prime Minister Modi’s Cabinet unfolded in New Delhi.

Soon after taking oath on June 9, Mr. Gopi put the political rumour mill on overdrive by telling television journalists that he hoped the BJP national leadership would relieve him of his post. “I have to do cinema at all costs”, he said. 

Mr. Gopi dismissed reports that he felt let down by the BJP’s failure to assign him a Cabinet post or the office of a Union Minister of State with independent charge. 

“I have not demanded anything. I will continue to work for my constituents in Thrissur”, he added. 

On June 10, a delegation of BJP leaders from Kerala, including P.K. Krishnadas and M.T. Ramesh, made a beeline for the hotel where Mr. Gopi stayed with his family in the national capital. 

They hoped to convince Mr. Gopi to accept the post, prevent the BJP from losing face, and help the party maintain its winning streak in Kerala.