Union Minister Suresh Gopi expresses wish to resume acting

Union Minister Suresh Gopi has said he wants to return to acting, revealing that his income has completely stopped since assuming ministerial responsibilities.

Speaking at an event in Kannur, the Thrissur MP and actor-turned-politician shared his wish to continue his film career. “I really want to continue acting. I need to earn more; my income has now stopped completely,” he said.

The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Minister of Tourism also suggested that Rajya Sabha MP C Sadanandan Master could be appointed in his place as Union Minister. “I have never prayed for becoming a minister. A day before the elections, I told reporters that I do not want to become a minister, I want to continue with my cinema,” Gopi said.

Reflecting on his political journey, he added, “I took membership of the party in October 2008 ... it was the first MP chosen by people and the party felt they needed to make me the minister.”

Earlier this year, President Droupadi Murmu nominated BJP veteran Sadanandan Master from Kannur to the Rajya Sabha.

During the same event, Gopi spoke about how his words are often misunderstood or misinterpreted. He said his use of the term “praja” to describe the people of his constituency, Thrissur, had been criticised by some.

He explained his stance by comparing it to the evolving terminology for sanitation workers, saying that just as those once referred to as manual scavengers were now called sanitation engineers, his use of the words *praja* and *prajatantra* had been misinterpreted by his opponents. He further questioned what was wrong with using the word *praja*.