Congress accuses Suresh Gopi of submitting false affidavit; files police complaint

Thrissur (Kerala): The Congress on Tuesday made fresh allegations against Union Minister Suresh Gopi, accusing him of submitting a false declaration to be included in the voters' list for the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency during the 2024 general election.

The party also filed a police complaint against the actor-turned-politician.

A group of senior Congress leaders led by former Lok Sabha MP T N Prathapan lodged a complaint with the city police commissioner demanding that a criminal case be registered against Gopi.

While talking to reporters after submitting the complaint, Prathapan alleged that Gopi had given a declaration to the authorities that he had stayed six months continuously in a house in the constituency and thus managed to add his name to the electoral roll here.

But his declaration was completely false, as he didn't stay at the particular residence for six months during the period as he claimed, he alleged.

"Gopi and 11 of his family members had been included as voters in the supplementary list which came after the releasing of the final voters' list. It was a false affidavit," he charged.

Prathapan further alleged that the BJP leader had filed the nomination after becoming a voter in the constituency through the false affidavit.

"Therefore, his vote is fake and invalid. A criminal case should be registered against him. His vote should be cancelled," he said.

Prathapan also alleged that the names of Suresh Gopi and his family are still there in the voters' list of Shasthamangalam ward under the Thiruvanthapuram city corporation for the upcoming local body polls.

He accused the district administration of not treating their allegations and complaints of fake voters with due seriousness when the Congress raised them before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"Suresh Gopi was a person who took an oath touching the Constitution of the country. He was a Rajya Sabha member before. He had contested and won by submitting a false affidavit. If his vote becomes invalid, he will lose his Lok Sabha membership," Prathapan added.

He expressed hope that police would treat the complaint positively.

The BJP had gained a landslide victory in the Thrissur constituency in the 2024 general election.

Suresh Gopi, now serving as Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Tourism, won the Thrissur seat by a significant margin of over 74,000 votes, defeating CPI's V S Sunil Kumar and Congress candidate K Muraleedharan in a closely fought three-cornered contest.

Earlier in the day, Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to carry out a re-election in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, in the wake of reports of widespread voters' list manipulation.

He said there have been allegations of widespread manipulation of voters' lists in the constituency before and after the Lok Sabha polls.

Vehemently criticising Suresh Gopi's continuing silence over the matter, the Left leader said he is keeping mum as he could not give a truthful reply on the matter.

"Gopi is scared to face the media and people. "That means he had won the election by manipulating the voters' list and spending lakhs of rupees," he alleged.

The minister also asked Gopi to resign as Thrissur MP, taking responsibility for the alleged malpractices.