Thrissur Pooram disruption: Suresh Gopi dares Kerala govt to seek CBI probe

Thiruvananthapuram: In the midst of controversy surrounding his use of an ambulance to get to the Thrissur Pooram venue after learning that the festival had been disrupted, Union Minister Suresh Gopi described the circumstances leading up to the incident in detail on Thursday and called for a CBI investigation into the whole matter.

Gopi, the Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism, while not refuting the allegations that he reached the festival site in an ambulance, claimed that he reached close to the festival site in his car, which was then attacked by some 'goondas' of the rival political parties.

The Union MoS claimed that he was rescued from there by some youngsters who put him in an ambulance which was there at the festival site to cater to those in distress.

"I do not need to explain it further. Let the CBI come and investigate. Do they have the courage to bring the CBI. Their entire politics will go up in flames if it happens. You want the truth to come out, bring the CBI," he said.

He further claimed that all these issues were being created to hide financial frauds like the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam.

Gopi had earlier refuted the claims, including by some BJP leaders, that he had reached the festival venue in an ambulance.

Hitting back at the Union Minister, the CPI -- a key ally of the ruling CPI(M) in the state -- claimed that Gopi misused an ambulance for political gains.

CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam said that ambulances were meant for emergencies and to use them for political gains or any other purpose was a "misuse".

"In this case, the misuse was done by then BJP candidate and current MP Suresh Gopi. Even various BJP leaders admitted that he was taken to the Pooram venue by ambulance.

"They projected it as an indication of their competence. Its beneficiary was Suresh Gopi. So, he may have things to hide and will say such dialogues," he contended.

The Thrissur Pooram disruption row has triggered a political debate in the state after Chief Minister Vijayan stated that the festival and the other rituals were not disrupted.

Congress and the Left ally CPI have alleged that the Pooram was purportedly disrupted to help the BJP win the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat by evoking Hindu sentiment.

There were police interventions in the Thrissur Pooram rituals and the subsequent controversies took the sheen off the annual spectacle held in April this year.

For the first time in the history of the festival, the display of fireworks, one of the major attractions of the event, which was scheduled in the early hours, was held in broad daylight the next day, which turned out to be a disappointment for the festival buffs.

With PTI inputs