Kerala’s first ever BJP Lok Sabha member Suresh Gopi, who had put his party in a spot by describing Indira Gandhi as “mother of India”, claimed on Sunday that he had meant she was the mother of the Congress party and called her the
“real architect of India, post Independence”.

On his first visit to his home state after being appointed the minister of state for tourism and petroleum, Gopi had sparked a row on Saturday by saying: “I always saw him (K. Karunakaran) as the father of the Congress in Kerala, just like Indira Gandhi is mother of India.”

Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, Gopi, however, claimed that he had meant Indira Gandhi was the mother of the Congress, and not India, and pointed at the contextual meaning of what he had said.

“I firmly believe that I have not made any mistake in my description. Aren’t you the people who understand the contextual meaning of a language? What did I say? As far as Congress is concerned, whoever likes it or not, Karunakaran is — although there could be founders and co-founders — the father of the Congress in Kerala. When you say Bharatam, Indira Gandhi is the mother. I said that from my heart,” an animated Gopi said.

“I can firmly say that there was not even a hint that the mother of the nation is Indira Gandhi, like the father of the nation is Mahatma Gandhi,” he insisted.

But he went on to laud Indira Gandhi as the “architect” of post-Independence India and alluded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also using a similar expression in
Parliament.

“Shrimati Indira Gandhi is the real and only architect of India, post Independence and until her demise. As citizens, we should not forget the administrative efforts and
results that she achieved,” Gopi said.

“I cannot forget a respected individual who sincerely worked for the nation by merely saying she is from a rival political party,” he said, adding that even Modi had described her as the “iron lady”.

Gopi, who breaks into English often, made most of his other comments in Malayalam.

“My Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had said this in Parliament. Didn’t he call her ‘an iron lady’? That is his right and responsibility,” said Gopi.

However, The Telegraph could not verify whether Modi had used that expression
for Indira.

Gopi had made the “mother of India” remark while interacting with the media after paying tribute at the memorial of late Congress stalwart and former chief minister K. Karunakaran in Thrissur, which Gopi now represents in the Lok Sabha.

Gopi’s description of Indira had left even BJP leaders speechless as spokespersons from other parties confronted them on primetime Malayalam television debates.