Opposition parties satirise Suresh Gopi’s ‘absenteeism’ from his constituency; KSU files missing person complaint

The ruling front and opposition in Kerala are resorting to biting political satire to turn a harsh spotlight on Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Suresh Gopi’s, allegedly high levels of absenteeism from his Lok Sabha constituency in Thrissur and the MP’s “noticiable silence” on the arrest of Kerala nuns in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Chhattisgarh on “dubious” charges of human trafficking for conversion to Christianity.

The Kerala Students’ Union (KSU), affiliated to the Congress, filed a missing person complaint at the East Police Station in Thrissur on Sunday (August 10, 2025). KSU activists will paste look-out notices for Mr. Gopi across the Lok Sabha constituency. The KSU will file a writ of habeas corpus in the High Court on Monday (August 11, 2025), seeking the “missing MP’s” production in court.

Church leaders also chimed in, with the Thrissur Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church Metropolitan, Yuhanon Mar Meletius, sarcastically quipping on social media: “We in Thrissur elected and sent an actor to New Delhi. He has disappeared since. Wondering whether we should inform the police”. 

General Education Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State committee member V. Sivankutty wrote on Facebook: “Posters are appearing in Thrissur for a missing person”.

KSU district president, Thrissur, Gokul Guruvayoor, told The Hindu that Mr. Gopi had denied his constituents committed representation.

He said the veteran actor had won the constituency by leveraging the Christian community’s electoral influence in Thrissur and projecting his on-screen persona as a hyper-masculine superhero fighting injustice.

“However, Mr. Gopi has remained defiantly silent about the unjust arrests of the senior sisters. The pro-Christian image Mr. Gopi and the BJP sold to voters through demonstrative acts of piety in Churches, including offering a golden circlet to Mother Mary, seemed not to match reality,” Mr Gokul said.

Mr. Gokul said KSU activists had enquired about Mr. Gopi at the latter’s local office at Perinkavu. “The staff had no clue about Mr Gopi’s whereabouts, and their answers seemed desperately opaque. Thrissur voters feel betrayed”, he said.

BJP leaders appeared to be loath to comment on Mr Gopi’s alleged truancy publicly. Nevertheless, a party insider conceded that the “escalating campaign” targeting Mr Gopi might not augur well for the BJP’s strengthening relationship with the Church.

“Mr Gopi’s constitutional office prevents him from publicly commenting on a matter still sub judice. However, like his fellow Union Minister from Kerala, George Kurian, Mr. Gopi might have personally reached out to Church leaders and members of the laity”, he added.