Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister Suresh Gopi clarified that late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi is “Mother of India” and his remarks were misinterpreted by the media.

When visited the memorial of late Congress Chief Minister K Karunakaran in Thrissur on Saturday, he had described Indira Gandhi is the mother of India and Karunakaran as a courageous administrator“.

He was a person talking from the heart and he firmly believed that there was nothing wrong in what he said about Indira Gandhi. Speaking with the media persons on Sunday at Thiruvananthapuram he asked the reporters whether they don’t understand the contextual meaning of language.

As far as the Congress is concerned whether anyone likes it or not,
K Karunakaran is the father of the Congress party in Kerala. In India, its mother is Indira Gandhi. I said this from my heart, Suresh Gopi said. He continued to lavish praises on Indira Gandhi on Sunday as well.

Indira Gandhi is the real architect of India post independence and until her demise. I have to make these attributions anyway. I cannot forget a person who had worked sincerely for the country only because she belonged to the political rival party, he added.

He had also said that he considered Karunakaran and Marxist veteran E K Nayanar his political gurus. Suresh Gopi said as he viewed Indira Gandhi as bharathathinte mathavu (mother of India), Karunakaran was the father of the Congress party in the State for him.

He explained that describing Karunakaran as the father of the Congress in Kerala was not a disrespect to the founders or co-founders of the Congress party in the State.